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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on November 26th 2025 has been entered.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, filed November 26th 2025, with respect to the rejection of claims 1-9 and 11-15 under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) have been fully considered. The rejection of claims 1-9 and 11-15 has been withdrawn due to amendments.
Applicant’s arguments, filed November 26th 2025, with respect to the rejection of claims 6-9 and 13-15 under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) have been fully considered. The rejection of claims 6-9 and 13-15 has been withdrawn due to amendments.
Applicant’s arguments, filed November 26th 2025, with respect to the rejection of claim 10 under 35 U.S.C. 102 have been fully considered but are not persuasive. The amended claim recites the limitation “a communication circuit electrically coupled to a supply node of the charging voltage.” The communication unit 720 in Yoon is coupled to the supply node of the charging voltage (401) via the first control unit (740), see Fig. 7 of Yoon.
Applicant’s arguments, filed November 26th 2025, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1-3, 6, 8-9, and 11-14 under 35 U.S.C. 102 and claim(s) 4-5 and 7 under 35 U.S.C 103 have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of 35 U.S.C 103.
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 text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claim(s) 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Yoon et al. (US 20170294793 A1).
Regarding Claim 10, Yoon teaches (Fig. 7) a control device of an electronic device (101) comprising:
a charging circuit (voltage converter 730) configured to charge a battery based on a charging voltage supplied from a charger (470) at a contact point (terminal 401);
a communication circuit (720) electrically coupled to a supply node of the charging voltage (through control unit 740, see Fig. 7) and configured to transmit a battery voltage of the battery to the charger (¶[54] “The first charging unit 420 may transmit the first information to the charger 470 through the second terminal 403a or 403b by using a communication unit in the first charging unit 420. (Data converter 450 may be part of this communication unit), see also ¶[79]);
and a control circuit (740) configured to control the communication circuit (720) and the charging circuit (730),
wherein the control circuit (740) is configured to monitor a voltage difference between the charging voltage and the battery voltage (¶[78] “a first controller 740 of a first charging unit 420a may obtain first information regarding a voltage of battery 430”),
and determine a transmission timing of battery voltage information based on a monitoring result (¶[84] “The first controller 740 may send a request for adjustment of the voltage to be applied to the first terminal to the charger 470 based on the obtained first information … The first controller 740 may determine whether to switch the battery charging scheme based on the obtained first information or second information as described with reference to FIG. 5),
the transmission timing of the battery voltage information being at a time when the monitoring result indicates that the voltage difference is less than a given set voltage equal to a difference between a minimum charging voltage necessary for securing a constant current in charging, and the battery voltage (¶[67] “The charger 470 may adjust the voltage applied to the electronic device 101 according to the first information received from the electronic device 101 (note that the first information refers to the battery voltage) … as shown in FIG. 5, as the battery voltage increases by battery charging, the applied voltage from the charger also increases. To ensure that a correct value of the current battery voltage is supplied to the charger, the charger or the electronic device 101 may determine a voltage drop between the terminal 401 and the battery terminals, in which the voltage drop occurring during the supply of the applied voltage may be taken into account. Thus, the charger may apply the adjusted voltage set to a value that is a result of adding the determined voltage drop to the identified current battery voltage”);
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claim(s) 1-3, 5-6, 8-9, and 11-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yoon et al. (US 20170294793 A1) in view of Matsuda (JP 2021119732 A).
Regarding Claim 1, Yoon teaches a control device (420a) comprising:
a communication circuit (720) configured to acquire battery voltage information of a battery (430) of an electronic device (101) (¶[54] “The first charging unit 420 may transmit the first information regarding the battery voltage to the charger 470”);
and a control circuit (740) configured to control, based on the battery voltage information, a charging voltage supply circuit (470,761) that supplies a charging voltage to a charging circuit (730) of the electronic device at a contact point (401) (¶[48] “Electronic device 101 may include a connector 410 and a first charging unit 420. The electronic device 101 may be connected with charger 470 through the connector 410 and be supplied with power from the charger 470. The connector 410 may include a first terminal 401 to which a voltage is applied from an external device (e.g. charger 470)”), such that a voltage difference between the charging voltage and a battery voltage at an output node of the charging circuit, is a given set voltage (¶[67] “The charger 470 may adjust the voltage applied to the electronic device 101 according to the first information received from the electronic device 101. For example, the charger may adjust the applied voltage to a value equal to or positively correlated to a current battery voltage identified based on the first information”, see also Fig. C5, particularly the time period between t2 and t3 where the difference between the applied voltage and battery voltage remains constant),
wherein the charging circuit includes a transistor (750) provided between a node to which the charging voltage is supplied (401) and the output node of the charging circuit (730),
the transistor being configured to allow a charging current to flow to the battery (¶[80] “For example, to charge battery 430, the first controller 740 may control the voltage to be supplied along a bypass path BP1 (the thicker black line in the figure) through the voltage converter 730 by turning on the second switch 750. When battery charging is complete, second switch 750 may be turned off”),
and is configured to perform constant current charging of the battery based on the supplied charging voltage (¶[69] “The electronic device 101 may supply a constant current determined based on the battery capacity (i.e., without changing the charging current) in a period where the battery is charged using the first battery charging scheme where the adjusted voltage (based on the first information) is supplied from the charger. In this case, the electronic device 101 may use an internal current control circuit to supply the constant current”),
Yoon does not explicitly teach wherein the charging circuit includes a current control circuit, and the transistor is controlled based on the output of the current control circuit.
Matsuda teaches wherein the charging circuit (65) includes a current control circuit (52), and the transistor (TC2) is controlled based on the output of the current control circuit (¶[41] “The CC charging circuit 52 includes a transistor TC2, an operational amplifier OPC, a resistor RC1, and a current source ISC. The virtual grounding of the operational amplifier OPC controls the transistor TC2”).
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Yoon to incorporate the teachings of Matsuda to provide wherein the charging circuit includes a current control circuit, and the transistor is controlled based on the output of the current control circuit in order to effectively allow constant current charging.
Regarding Claim 2, Yoon in view of Matsuda teaches the control device according to claim 1.
Yoon further teaches wherein the battery voltage information is the battery voltage (¶[53] “Herein, the “voltage of the battery”, the “battery voltage” or the “battery output voltage” may be used interchangeably to refer to a current output voltage provided by the battery 430, which is measured by a suitable measuring circuit (not shown)”).
Regarding Claim 3, Yoon in view of Matsuda teaches the control device according to claim 1.
Yoon further teaches wherein the battery voltage information is voltage difference information between the battery voltage and the charging voltage (¶[67] “The charger 470 may adjust the voltage applied to the electronic device 101 according to the first information received from the electronic device 101. For example, the charger may adjust the applied voltage to a value equal to or positively correlated to a current battery voltage identified based on the first information”, see also Fig. 5, particularly the time period between t2 and t3 where the difference between the applied voltage and battery voltage remains constant).
Regarding Claim 5, Yoon in view of Matsuda teaches the control device according to claim 1.
Yoon in view of Matsuda does not explicitly teach wherein the communication circuit includes a current detection circuit; however Yoon teaches the first charging unit is configured to detect a current flowing through a power supply line of the charging voltage supply circuit (470) (¶[53] “The first charging unit 420 may obtain second information regarding at least one of charging current of the battery 430”) which is then communicated via the communication circuit (720) (¶[55] “The first charging unit 420 may transmit the second information regarding at least one of the charging current of the battery 430”).
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the elements of a current detection circuit and communication circuit to reduce the distance and save space in the device.
Regarding Claim 6, Yoon teaches a contact type (Fig. 4) charging system comprising:
an electronic device (101);
and a charger (470), wherein the electronic device is configured to transmit battery voltage information of a battery of the electronic device to the charger (¶[54] “The first charging unit 420 may transmit the first information regarding the battery voltage to the charger 470”),
and the charger is configured to output a charging voltage for the battery to a charging circuit (420) of the electronic device (101) at a contact point (401) (¶[48] “Electronic device 101 may include a connector 410 and a first charging unit 420. The electronic device 101 may be connected with charger 470 through the connector 410 and be supplied with power from the charger 470. The connector 410 may include a first terminal 401 to which a voltage is applied from an external device (e.g. charger 470)”) based on the battery voltage information, such that a voltage difference between the charging voltage and a battery voltage at an output node of the charging circuit is a given set voltage (¶[67] “The charger 470 may adjust the voltage applied to the electronic device 101 according to the first information received from the electronic device 101. For example, the charger may adjust the applied voltage to a value equal to or positively correlated to a current battery voltage identified based on the first information”, see also Fig. 5, particularly the time period between t2 and t3 where the difference between the applied voltage and battery voltage remains constant),
wherein the charging circuit includes a transistor (750) provided between a node to which the charging voltage is supplied (401) and the output node of the charging circuit,
the transistor being configured to allow a charging current to flow to the battery (¶[80] “For example, to charge battery 430, the first controller 740 may control the voltage to be supplied along a bypass path BP1 (the thicker black line in the figure) through the voltage converter 730 by turning on the second switch 750. When battery charging is complete, second switch 750 may be turned off”),
and is configured to perform constant current charging of the battery based on the supplied charging voltage (¶[69] “The electronic device 101 may supply a constant current determined based on the battery capacity (i.e., without changing the charging current) in a period where the battery is charged using the first battery charging scheme where the adjusted voltage (based on the first information) is supplied from the charger. In this case, the electronic device 101 may use an internal current control circuit to supply the constant current”).
Yoon does not explicitly teach wherein the charging circuit includes a current control circuit, and the transistor is controlled based on the output of the current control circuit.
Matsuda teaches wherein the charging circuit (65) includes a current control circuit (52), and the transistor (TC2) is controlled based on the output of the current control circuit (¶[41] “The CC charging circuit 52 includes a transistor TC2, an operational amplifier OPC, a resistor RC1, and a current source ISC. The virtual grounding of the operational amplifier OPC controls the transistor TC2”).
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Yoon to incorporate the teachings of Matsuda to provide wherein the charging circuit includes a current control circuit, and the transistor is controlled based on the output of the current control circuit in order to effectively allow constant current charging.
Regarding Claim 8, Yoon in view of Matsuda teaches the charging system according to claim 6.
Yoon further teaches the electronic device is configured to periodically transmit the battery voltage information to the charger (¶[71] “the electronic device 101 may compare the State of Charge (SOC) of the battery, the charging current of the battery, the consumption current of the battery, the temperature of the battery, or the surface temperature of the electronic device 101 with a respective threshold value preset for requesting adjustment of the voltage and the current, and send a request for adjustment of the voltage and the current to the charger according to a comparison result”; the phrase ‘periodically transmitted’ is interpreted as transmitted occasionally or from time to time).
Regarding Claim 9, Yoon in view of Matsuda teaches the charging system according to claim 6.
Yoon further teaches the electronic device (101) is configured to monitor the voltage difference between the charging voltage and the battery voltage or the battery voltage,
and determine a transmission timing of the battery voltage information based on a monitoring result (¶[71] “the electronic device 101 may compare the State of Charge (SOC) of the battery, the charging current of the battery, the consumption current of the battery, the temperature of the battery, or the surface temperature of the electronic device 101 with a respective threshold value preset for requesting adjustment of the voltage and the current, and send a request for adjustment of the voltage and the current to the charger according to a comparison result”).
Regarding Claim 11, Yoon in view of Matsuda teaches the control device according to claim 1.
Yoon further teaches wherein the control circuit (740) is configured to control, based on the battery voltage information, the charging voltage supply circuit (470) that supplies the charging voltage to the charging circuit (420) of the electronic device (101) at the contact point (401),
such that the voltage difference between the charging voltage and the battery voltage at the output node of the charging circuit is the given set voltage (¶[67] “The charger 470 may adjust the voltage applied to the electronic device 101 according to the first information received from the electronic device 101. For example, the charger may adjust the applied voltage to a value equal to or positively correlated to a current battery voltage identified based on the first information”, see also Fig. 5, particularly the time period between t2 and t5 where the difference between the applied voltage and battery voltage remains constant) for an entirety of a duration (t2 to t5, see Fig. 5) of charging of the battery (430) of the electronic device by the charging voltage supply circuit (see also ¶[69] for constant current charging).
Regarding Claim 12, Yoon in view of Matsuda teaches the control device according to claim 11.
Yoon further teaches wherein the control circuit (740) is configured to control, based on the battery voltage information, the charging voltage supply circuit (470) that supplies the charging voltage to the charging circuit (730) of the electronic device (101) at the contact point (401),
such that the charging voltage is a minimum charging voltage necessary for securing a constant current in charging, and the given set voltage is equal to a difference between the minimum charging voltage and the battery voltage (¶[55] “The first charging unit 420 may transmit the second information regarding at least one of the charging current of the battery 430, the SOC of the battery 430, the surface temperature of the electronic device 101, the temperature of the battery 430, or the consumed current of the battery 430 to the charger 470, and receive the adjusted voltage and also an “adjusted current” based on the first information and the second information from the charger 470. The adjusted current may be a constant current, which is controlled (regulated) by the charger 470”).
Regarding Claim 13, Yoon in view of Matsuda teaches the contact type charging system according to claim 6.
Yoon further teaches wherein the charger (470) is configured to output the charging voltage of the battery to the charging circuit (420) of the electronic device at the contact point (401) based on the battery voltage information (see ¶[67] quoted above),
such that the voltage difference between the charging voltage and the voltage at the output node of the charger is the given set voltage (¶[67] “The charger 470 may adjust the voltage applied to the electronic device 101 according to the first information received from the electronic device 101. For example, the charger may adjust the applied voltage to a value equal to or positively correlated to a current battery voltage identified based on the first information”, see also Fig. 5, particularly the time period between t2 and t5 where the difference between the applied voltage and battery voltage remains constant) for an entirety of a duration (t2 to t5, see Fig. 5) of charging of the battery of the electronic device by the charging voltage supply circuit (see also ¶[69] for constant current charging).
Regarding Claim 14, Yoon in view of Matsuda teaches the contact type charging system according to claim 13.
Yoon further teaches wherein the charger (470) is configured to output the charging voltage of the battery (430) based on the battery voltage information (see ¶[67] quoted above)
such that the charging voltage is a minimum charging voltage necessary for securing a constant current in charging, and the given set voltage is equal to a difference between the minimum charging voltage and the battery voltage (¶[55] “The first charging unit 420 may transmit the second information regarding at least one of the charging current of the battery 430, the SOC of the battery 430, the surface temperature of the electronic device 101, the temperature of the battery 430, or the consumed current of the battery 430 to the charger 470, and receive the adjusted voltage and also an “adjusted current” based on the first information and the second information from the charger 470. The adjusted current may be a constant current, which is controlled (regulated) by the charger 470”).
Regarding Claim 15, Yoon in view of Matsuda teaches the contact type charging system according to claim 9.
Yoon further teaches wherein the transmission timing of the battery voltage information being at a time when the monitoring result indicates that the voltage difference is less than a given set voltage equal to a difference between a minimum charging voltage necessary for securing a constant current in charging, and the battery voltage (¶[67] “The charger 470 may adjust the voltage applied to the electronic device 101 according to the first information received from the electronic device 101 (note that the first information refers to the battery voltage) … as shown in FIG. 5, as the battery voltage increases by battery charging, the applied voltage from the charger also increases. To ensure that a correct value of the current battery voltage is supplied to the charger, the charger or the electronic device 101 may determine a voltage drop between the terminal 401 and the battery terminals, in which the voltage drop occurring during the supply of the applied voltage may be taken into account. Thus, the charger may apply the adjusted voltage set to a value that is a result of adding the determined voltage drop to the identified current battery voltage”);
Regarding Claim 16, Yoon in view of Matsuda teaches the control device according to claim 1.
Matsuda further teaches wherein the current control circuit (52) includes an operational amplifier (OPC), and the transistor (TC2) is controlled based on an output signal of the operational amplifier (¶[41] “The CC charging circuit 52 includes a transistor TC2, an operational amplifier OPC, a resistor RC1, and a current source ISC. The virtual grounding of the operational amplifier OPC controls the transistor TC2”)
Claim(s) 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yoon et al. (US 20170294793 A1) in view of Matsuda (JP 2021119732 A) further in view of Otake (JP 2005278302 A).
Regarding Claim 4, Yoon in view of Matsuda teaches the control device according to claim 1.
Yoon in view of Matsuda does not teach wherein the control circuit includes a register configured to set the set voltage.
Otake further teaches wherein the control circuit (4) includes a register (181) configured to set the set voltage (¶[34] “a constant power setting data storage circuit 181 which stores preset or programmably set constant power setting data”).
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Yoon in view of Matsuda to incorporate the teachings of Otake to provide wherein the control circuit includes a register configured to set the set voltage in order to quickly access the target voltage difference during comparison and to be able to change the set voltage depending on the charge of the battery.
Claim(s) 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yoon et al. (US 20170294793 A1) in view of Matsuda (JP 2021119732 A) further in view of Mitamura et al. (JP 2015043648 A).
Regarding Claim 7, Yoon in view of Matsuda teaches the charging system according to claim 6.
Yoon in view of Matsuda does not teach the electronic device includes a load modulation circuit,
and is configured to transmit the battery voltage information to the charger by load modulation with the load modulation circuit
Mitamura teaches (Fig. 18) the electronic device (510) includes a load modulation circuit (513),
and is configured to transmit the battery voltage information to the charger (520) by load modulation with the load modulation circuit (¶[31-32] “The charging control IC further includes a modulation circuit (513) that modulates a carrier wave with the feedback signal to output a modulated wave, and the first device superimposes the modulated wave on the power line. The charger further includes a demodulation circuit (523), which separates the modulated wave from the power line and supplies it to the demodulation circuit, and the demodulation circuit regenerates the feedback signal from the modulated wave and supplies it to the charge drive circuit.”)
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Yoon in view of Matsuda to incorporate the teachings of Mitamura to provide the electronic device includes a load modulation circuit, and is configured to transmit the battery voltage information to the charger by load modulation with the load modulation circuit in order to reduce the number of wires between the charger and device, as suggested by Mitamura (¶[33]).
Conclusion
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/A.B./Examiner, Art Unit 2859
/JULIAN D HUFFMAN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2859