[TusharK]

Flash Electronics India Ltd. has filed a suit against Royal Enfield in the US for patent infringement.

The company has said that the United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) had issued a patent for "Regulator Rectifier Device and Method for Regulating an Output Voltage of the Same" on February 20, 2018.



The regulator rectifier converts AC (Alternating Current) voltage produced in motorcycle engines to DC (Direct Current) voltage to charge the batteries and power the headlights as well as instrument panel illumination. The company has been a key manufacturer and supplier of this component to 2-wheeler manufacturers in India and abroad.

Flash Electronics has also been granted patents for the component in Germany, France, Italy, United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Sweden, Spain, Austria, Switzerland and Turkey.

In response, Royal Enfield has released a statement saying that it has not received an official communication yet and that the component in question is supplied by an external, proprietary supplier, which independently develops and owns the IP rights for the part.

Link to Team-BHP News

[i74js]

If one has to believe Flash's representation; RE requested for sample rectifiers for testing purposes and instead of returning / placing order with Flash, RE got the same rectifiers made through another player at a fraction of cost in violation of patent provisions.

Flash has gone to the US & EU courts and have simultaneously filed lawsuit in Indian courts. The US courts are quick in issuing verdicts on copyright & patent violations which can then be used in other countries.

Too bad RE if this is the ground reality !!

[ArizonaJim]

It sounds like the old, "Go after the deep pockets" routine to me.

For those who don't know, that means you sue the company that has a lot of money instead of suing the company who is actually causing the problem.

In this case, it looks like the external supplier might be at fault.

I say "might" because of my ignorance about India's laws.
Noting that India is not mentioned in the International Patents granted for this device it brings up the question, do the US patent laws really mean anything in India?

Actually, I'm surprised Royal Enfield or anyone else would even be interested in a new AC/DC/voltage regulator that has a new patent on it.

These things have been around in one form or another for over 50 years and the patents on them ran out years ago.
They are built into the alternator or connected to it in every car and motorcycle on the road today.

I guess we will see where this issue goes from here but in truth, I'm not going to lose any sleep over it.

[GTO]

Varroc clarifies its position on the patent violation allegations:

Varroc Engineering Limited ("Varroc") is a part of the Varroc Group, which is a globally renowned Tier 1 auto component manufacturer that supplies to leading Auto OEMs both in India and abroad. The Varroc Group places a lot of emphasis on product innovation and development of new technologies. It currently holds more than 175 patents and employs more than 1,500 engineers in research and development activities at various locations around the world.

We have recently learnt from press reports about certain allegations made by another Indian auto component manufacturer regarding Varroc knowingly infringing on their patent to manufacture and supply certain components to Royal Enfield, one of our valued customers. Though we have not been officially notified of any such violation till date by this party, we have verified this claim based on the information available in the public domain and have also consulted independent experts. We are confident that our product does not infringe upon the relevant patent in any way.

Varroc treats issues with respect to intellectual property with utmost seriousness and ensures full compliance. We are shocked at the unfounded and irresponsible allegations made by this party without giving us an opportunity to explain our position. We reserve the right to take appropriate legal action on the same to protect our interests and reputation.

[greenhorn]

I was reading this article, and could not really understand the issue here
https://www.livemint.com/industry/ma...239171009.html

Royal Enfield Motors Ltd, India’s largest maker of middle-weight premium motorcycles, may face hurdles in rolling out its Bharat Stage (BS) VI norms compliant motorcycles from next year if the company fails to resolve a patent infringement dispute with parts maker Flash Electronics in a US court.

The issue relates to the usage of the regulator rectifier, a component mandatory for all BS-VI compliant products.

Am i not getting this, or has this issue been oversimplified for public consumption?

1. My understanding (based on the fact that I'm an electronics engineer who keeps himself in touch with the practical side of things) is that a "regulator rectifier" is a diode bridge to convert AC to DC, followed by a linear or a switching regulator. based on the specs of it - current, ripple, voltage etc, this should be a fairly commoditized part which can be made by any engineering firm with off the shelf parts
e.g. here is an example of how to make one
https://www.instructables.com/id/How...tage-regulato/
How can this become IP ?
2. How can a rectifier be tied to BS6 emission norms ? I'm sure there could be some link, like some sort of logic built into the controller to determine charging based on engine RPM etc -

Can someone break it down?

[srini1785]

Originally Posted by greenhorn

Am i not getting this, or has this issue been oversimplified for public consumption?

I think that is the case.

Getting a patent for a rectifier is like taking a patent for IC engine. But the fact that US patent office has granted a patent for this device should also be taken into account.

I would take info from some legal sites to check the specifics of this case in US.

If i remember right , RE is sourcing this unit from another supplier and this supplier has ripped off the one who owns the patent. I may also be wrong.

[Aiel]

Even though, I am an engineer working in the field of IP, I am posting this using only publicly available information.

In this case, the Flash patent does not claim all regulator rectifiers, only a specific implementation of the regulator rectifier, which has been stated in the claims of Flash’s patent in the US (US9899866B2). I am reproducing the main claim below (for reference):

A regulator rectifier device comprising:
a source terminal to receive a three phase alternating current voltage with each phase including a positive cycle and a negative cycle from a generating device;
a plurality of first rectifying unit with a first gate terminal, connected to said generating device to rectify the positive cycle of said three phase alternating current voltage;
a plurality of second rectifying unit with a second gate terminal, said second rectifying unit connected to said generating device to rectify the negative cycle of said three phase alternating current voltage, wherein said second rectifying unit switches between rectification mode and shunt mode depending on load condition; and
a controlling unit configured to control said second rectifying unit by a gate control signal, said controlling unit outputs said gate control signal based on an output voltage of said regulator rectifier device with respect to any one of a first predefined voltage in battery connected condition and a third predefined voltage in battery-less condition and said positive cycle and said negative cycle of each phase of said three phase alternating current voltage from said generating device, said gate control signal enables said second rectifying unit to switch between rectification mode and shunt mode by controlling the second gate terminal of said second rectifying unit, wherein said gate control signal switches said second rectifying unit into shunt mode when the output voltage of said regulator rectifier device is greater than any one of said first predefined voltage in battery connected condition and said third predefined voltage in battery-less condition, and thereby continuing the shunting of said second rectifying unit as long as said positive cycle of corresponding phase of said three phase alternating current voltage exists.

The above is what Flash is trying to protect; i.e., the above is their claimed IP.

Now, for RE to infringe the above claim, RE has to implement all the above claimed elements and their corresponding function (or an equivalent of them). Even if one component (or an equivalent) is not there in the regulator rectifier being used by RE, RE may be considered to not infringe the patent.

RE can fight this case in one or more ways: Claiming that they do not infringe the patent; Claiming that the patent is not valid, etc.

Another potential issue for RE is that the corresponding patent has not yet been granted in India. If Flash does manage to get the patent granted in India, we may also see a patent infringement case being filed in India (though the claims which will be granted by India may differ from the claim granted in the US and hence RE may/may not infringe the claim in India (independent of the potential infringement in the US)).

[greenhorn]

at risk of oversimplifying something i have not fully gone into, this looks like a 3 phase fully controlled rectifier using mosfets. There seem to be a fair amount of prior art, with the differentiation being the control scheme implemented here. Flash must suspect IP theft/espionage etc. Modifying the control scheme to come up with something sufficiently different enough on the face of things shouldn't be that hard.

[fordday]

Originally Posted by greenhorn

this looks like a 3 phase fully controlled rectifier using mosfets.

Do you mean three phase electrical power?
Where or why will a bike or car need to generate three phase power? Unless its a EV.

[Motard_Blr]

Originally Posted by fordday

Do you mean three phase electrical power?
Where or why will a bike or car need to generate three phase power? Unless its a EV.

All alternators in cars and many in two wheelers are 3 phase.

[Sutripta]

Originally Posted by fordday

Do you mean three phase electrical power?
Where or why will a bike or car need to generate three phase power? Unless its a EV.

Depends on stator winding.
For electronically rectified systems ripple is a problem. Damages loads and batteries. The three phase stator windings give the best performance between ripple and rectifier cost.
Very low cost systems might not go the extra mile in this respect. As MB has stated above, all car alternators are 'three phase'.

Regards
Sutripta

[fordday]

Originally Posted by Motard_Blr

All alternators in cars and many in two wheelers are 3 phase.

Originally Posted by Sutripta

The three phase stator windings give the best performance between ripple and rectifier cost.

Thanks to both of you. Never knew cars or even two wheelers would have three phase generators.