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`UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
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`UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
`United States Patent and Trademark Office
`Address: COMIVHSSIONER FOR PATENTS
`P.O. Box 1450
`Alexandria1 Virginia 22313-1450
`www.uspto.gov
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`14/414,167
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`01/12/2015
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`Toshihiro Matsumoto
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`MAT—10642Us
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`2406
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`03/10/2017 —RATNERPRESTIA m
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`7590
`52473
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`BOUZIANE’ SA )
`2200 RENAISSANCE BLVD
`SUITE 350
`KING OF PRUSSIA, PA 19406
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`PAPER NUMBER
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`2837
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`NOTIFICATION DATE
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`DELIVERY MODE
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`03/10/2017
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`ELECTRONIC
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`Please find below and/or attached an Office communication concerning this application or proceeding.
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`The time period for reply, if any, is set in the attached communication.
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`Notice of the Office communication was sent electronically on above—indicated "Notification Date" to the
`following e—mail address(es):
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`pcorrespondence @ratnerprestia.c0m
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`PTOL—90A (Rev. 04/07)
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`

`

`
`
`Applicant(s)
`Application No.
` 14/414,167 MATSUMOTO, TOSHIHIRO
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`Examiner
`Art Unit
`AIA (First Inventorto File)
`Office Action Summary
`
`2837SAID BOUZIANE first“
`
`-- The MAILING DA TE of this communication appears on the cover sheet with the correspondence address --
`Period for Reply
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`A SHORTENED STATUTORY PERIOD FOR REPLY IS SET TO EXPIRE g MONTHS FROM THE MAILING DATE OF
`THIS COMMUNICATION.
`Extensions of time may be available under the provisions of 37 CFR 1.136(a).
`after SIX (6) MONTHS from the mailing date of this communication.
`If NO period for reply is specified above, the maximum statutory period will apply and will expire SIX (6) MONTHS from the mailing date of this communication.
`Failure to reply within the set or extended period for reply will, by statute, cause the application to become ABANDONED (35 U.S.C. § 133).
`Any reply received by the Office later than three months after the mailing date of this communication, even if timely filed, may reduce any
`earned patent term adjustment. See 37 CFR 1.704(b).
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`In no event, however, may a reply be timely filed
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`-
`-
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`Status
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`1)IXI Responsive to communication(s) filed on 02/07/2017.
`[I A declaration(s)/affidavit(s) under 37 CFR 1.130(b) was/were filed on
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`2b)lX| This action is non-final.
`2a)I:| This action is FINAL.
`3)I:I An election was made by the applicant in response to a restriction requirement set forth during the interview on
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`; the restriction requirement and election have been incorporated into this action.
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`4)|:I Since this application is in condition for allowance except for formal matters, prosecution as to the merits is
`closed in accordance with the practice under EX parte Quay/e, 1935 CD. 11, 453 O.G. 213.
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`3) D Interview Summary (PT0_413)
`1) E Notice of References Cited (PTO-892)
`Paper No(s)/Mai| Date.
`.
`.
`—
`4) I:I Other'
`2) D Information Disclosure Statement(s) (PTO/SB/08a and/or PTO/SB/08b)
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`Paper No(s)/Mai| Date .
`US. Patent and Trademark Office
`PTOL-326 (Rev. 11-13)
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`Office Action Summary
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`Part of Paper No./Mai| Date 20170223
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`Disposition of Claims*
`5)|XI Claim(s) 1and2 is/are pending in the application.
`5a) Of the above claim(s)
`is/are withdrawn from consideration.
`6 III Claim s) _ is/are allowed.
`s
`1 and2 is/are rejected.
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`is/are objected to.
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`I )
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`_
`
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`are subject to restriction and/or election requirement.
`9)|:l Claim(s
`I
`* If any claims have been determined allowable, you may be eligible to benefit from the Patent Prosecution Highway program at a
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`participating intellectual property office for the corresponding application. For more information, please see
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`://www.usoto. ov/ atents/init events"
`h/index.‘s
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`, or send an inquiry to PF"I1feedback©uspto.qov.
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`Application Papers
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`10)I:I The specification is objected to by the Examiner.
`11)|Z| The drawing(s) filed on 02/07/2017is/are: a)IXI accepted or b)I:I objected to by the Examiner.
`Applicant may not request that any objection to the drawing(s) be held in abeyance. See 37 CFR 1.85(a).
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`Replacement drawing sheet(s) including the correction is required if the drawing(s) is objected to. See 37 CFR 1.121 (d).
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`Priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119
`12)IZI Acknowledgment is made of a claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(a)-(d) or (f).
`Certified copies:
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`b)I:I Some” c)I:I None of the:
`a)le All
`1.IZI Certified copies of the priority documents have been received.
`2.I:I Certified copies of the priority documents have been received in Application No.
`3.I:I Copies of the certified copies of the priority documents have been received in this National Stage
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`application from the International Bureau (PCT Rule 17.2(a)).
`** See the attached detailed Office action for a list of the certified copies not received.
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`Attachment(s)
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`

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`Application/Control Number: 14/414,167
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`Page 2
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`Art Unit: 2837
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`DETAILED ACTION
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`Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
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`1.
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`The present application is being examined under the pre-AIA first to invent
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`provisions.
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`Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1. 114
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`2.
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`A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set
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`forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this
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`application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set
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`forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action
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`has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on
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`2/07/2017 has been entered.
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`Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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`3.
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`In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35
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`U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any
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`correction of the statutory basis for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of
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`rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be
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`the same under either status.
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`The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) which forms the basis
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`for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
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`(a) A patent may notbe obtained though the invention is not identically disclosed or
`described as set forth in section 102 of this title, if the differences between the subject
`matter sought to be patented and the prior art are such that the subject matter as a whole
`would have been obvious at the time the invention was made to a person having ordinary
`skill in the art to which said subject matter pertains. Patentability shall not be negatived by
`the manner in which the invention was made.
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`

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`Application/Control Number: 14/414,167
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`Page 3
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`Art Unit: 2837
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`The factual inquiries set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148
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`USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied for establishing a background for determining
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`obviousness under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) are summarized as follows:
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`1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
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`2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
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`3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
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`4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or
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`nonobviousness.
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`Claims 1 and 2 are rejected under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being
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`unpatentable over Nishino et al. (US 6141494 A) in view of Holling et al. (US 5600218
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`A) and Oyobe at al. (US 20090067205 A1).
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`Regarding claim 1, Nishino discloses a brushless DC motor (Fig. 1 shows DC
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`motor 11)
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`comprising:
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`an inverter circuit (Fig. 1, fl) including a plurality of upper stage side switching
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`elements (29, 30) and a plurality of lower stage side switching elements (31, 32)
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`connected to form a bridge (Fig. 1, E);
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`a drive logic controller (Fig. 1, element 23) configured to perform PWM control of
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`the upper stage side switching elements or the lower stage side switching elements “a
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`motor drive circuit 23 is provided for generating PWM (Pulse-Width Modulated) control
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`signals PC1 to P04 on the basis of the motor driving signal DM” (Nishino, column 3,
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`lines 1-4), and control a DC voltage applied to the inverter circuit by energizing driving
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`coils of the brushless DC motor sequentially in a specified direction and order;
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`Application/Control Number: 14/414,167
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`Page 4
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`Art Unit: 2837
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`a duty indicator configured to indicate ON/OFF duty of the PWM control (Fig. 1,
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`signals DM);
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`a motor voltage detector configured to detect a voltage applied to the driving coils
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`(Fig. 1 shows motor terminal voltage detection circuit 25 detecting signal VM indicative
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`of a voltage applied to the driving coils);
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`Nishino discloses a motor current detector configured to detect a current flowing
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`through the driving coils (24) and a motor voltage detector configured to detect a
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`voltage applied to the driving coils (25).
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`However, Nishino does not explicitly teach wherein current detector and voltage
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`detector output normalized values of the current and voltage and the normalizing
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`treatment of the detected voltage/current including multiplying the detected
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`voltage/current by a predetermined voltage/current coefficient; . While Nishino is silence
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`with regard to the types of values the current/voltage detectors are outputting and
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`comparing at latter steps. Normalization is a well-known technique in data analysis used
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`to normalize two or more distributions to each other. On the same field of endeavor,
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`Holling teaches the normalization technique (Fig. 1, 30) is performed to remove various
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`extraneous factors which significantly affect the rate of change of the current (dl/dt) or
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`voltage (dV/dt) flowing within the motor windings. Furthermore, Oyobe teaches steps of
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`normalizing current or voltage depicted in Fig. 21 ; wherein Mean value operating unit
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`404 calculates a mean value of the magnitude of current lAc from current sensor 86, in
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`the similar manner as mean value operating unit 402 which integrates the absolute
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`value of detected current lAc for 1 period or several periods, divide the integrated value
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`Application/Control Number: 14/414,167
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`Page 5
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`Art Unit: 2837
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`by the number of samplings, and multiply the result by a coefficient, to find the
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`normalized value of detected current lAc (Oyobe, 11. [0157]- [0163]).
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`Hence, it would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art at the time
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`of the invention, to modify the invention of Nishino with the teaching of Holling and
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`Oyobe to implement normalization technique in order to normalize the output of the
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`current/voltage detectors; therefore, providing improved signal integrity for
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`current/voltage detector circuits. As a result, the significant variations in current and
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`voltage rate of change that normally result from fluctuations in bus voltage and motor
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`speed are eliminated. For all that, one with ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to
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`compare the normalized motor voltage value with the normalized motor current value
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`instead of comparing the detected motor voltage value with the detected motor current
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`value as taught in Nishino “FIG. 3 is a characteristic diagram corresponding to that of
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`FIG. 11 and shows motor current (lM)-versus-motor voltage (VM) characteristics in the
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`state in which the DC motor 11 is driven in the second motor drive mode in which both
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`the FETs of each pair are controlled by the PWM control signals” (Nishino, column 12,
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`lines 19-24. the CPU 20A inputted with normalized motor voltage and normalized motor
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`current as shown in Fig. 10, and generating an the basis of these input signals the
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`motor driving signal DM indicating duty ratios of the PWM control signals PC1 to
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`P04 mentioned previously for effectuating the PWM control of the FETs constituting the
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`bridge commutation circuit BR (Nishino, column 9, lines 65-68), reads on the correlation
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`detector recited in the claim.
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`Nishino with the teaching of Holling and Oyobe:
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`Application/Control Number: 14/414,167
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`Page 6
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`Art Unit: 2837
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`Nishino teaches the motor voltage is estimated based on the duty ration in
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`accordance with the expression (1 ):
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`VMS=(DTY—D0)><VB><K1
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`(1)
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`This expression shows that the motor voltage is proportional to the duty ratio. In addition
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`Nishino Figs. 1 and 2 show characteristic diagrams showing graphically characteristic
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`relations between a motor current and a motor voltage. Since the motor power is limited
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`by the rated power, it is a design requirement for the motor current and the motor
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`voltage to be maintained in a constant ratio.
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`if the current increase to be greater than
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`the voltage; the control system has to decrease the voltage to protect the motor; and
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`therefore, decrease the duty ratio of the PWM and vice versa. Therefore, it would have
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`been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art in the light of the teaching of the
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`references on the record to decreasing the ON/OFF duty in response to the comparison
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`indicating that the normalized motor current is greater than the normalized motor
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`voltage, and the control signal increasing the ON/OFF duty in response to the
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`comparison indicating that the normalized motor voltage is greater than the normalized
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`motor current. Therefore, keeping the motor performance in normal and safe zones.
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`Regarding claim 2, the combination of Nishino, Holling and Oyobe teaches
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`wherein the motor current detector is replaced by a circuit current detector (Nishino, Fig.
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`1, element 24) configured to detect a current of the inverter circuit.
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`Conclusion
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`4.
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`Any inquiry examiner should be directed to SAID BOUZIANE whose telephone
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`number is (571 )272—7592. The examiner can normally be reached on SAM-2:30PM.
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`Application/Control Number: 14/414,167
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`Page 7
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`Art Unit: 2837
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`/EVREN SEVEN/
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`Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2812
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`/SAID BOUZIANE/
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`Examiner, Art Unit 2837
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`