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 .
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant's claim for foreign priority based on an application filed in Korea on 9/27/2021. It is noted, however, that applicant has not filed a certified copy of the KR10-2021-0127093 application as required by 37 CFR 1.55.
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, 2, 8, 11 and 13-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Sauterel et al., hereinafter Sauterel, US Publication No. 2017/0256978.
Regarding Claim 1, Sauterel teaches an electronic device (Sauterel Fig. 2, see input device 200) comprising:
a housing forming at least a portion of an exterior of the electronic device (Sauterel Fig. 2 and paragraph [0039], see housing 220);
a wireless charging structure positioned in a recess of the housing (Sauterel Figs. 2 and 3 and paragraphs [0039] and [0041], see removable modular insert having inductive coils within the cavity 260); and
a circuit board disposed in the housing and electrically connected with the wireless charging structure (Sauterel Fig. 3 and paragraph [0041]-[0042], see board having a processor 350 that is connected to and controls the operation of the coil), wherein the wireless charging structure includes:
a wireless charging coil (Sauterel Fig. 3 and paragraph [0041], see coil 390); and
an insert portion formed to surround at least a portion of the wireless charging coil (Sauterel Fig. 3, see modular insert portions surrounding the coil 390), and
wherein the recess of the housing includes at least one protrusion configured for coupling with the insert portion, and the insert portion includes at least one receiving portion disposed along an edge of the wireless charging structure configured to couple with the at least one protrusion (Sauterel Figs. 3 and 4 and paragraph [0049], wherein the housing includes protrusions in the cavity in the form of magnets 420 and 430 which are coupled to the contacts 412 and 414 of the removable modular insert, the contacts 412 and 414 being along the edge of the removable modular insert).
Regarding Claim 2, Sauterel further teaches wherein the insert portion includes a guide slot configured to align a position of the wireless charging coil and limit eccentricity (Sauterel Fig. 4 and paragraphs [0049]-[0051], wherein the modular insert may include a hybrid approach to coupling, including utilizing screws which have screwholes or guide slots, and are used for alignment and therefore reduce eccentricity).
Regarding Claim 8, Sauterel further teaches wherein the housing is formed of a first material, and the insert portion of the wireless charging structure is formed of a second material different from the first material (Sauterel paragraph [0049], wherein the modular insert and the housing may be formed of a plurality of different materials).
Regarding Claim 11, Sauterel further teaches wherein the wireless charging structure further includes terminals for electrical connection with the circuit board, as conductive lines extending from the wireless charging coil (Sauterel Fig. 3 and paragraph [0042], see inductive coil contacts 330 and 340 or internal wires that connect the coil to the processor).
Regarding Claim 13, Sauterel further teaches wherein the recess of the housing is formed to have an increased surface area in contact with the insert portion to couple with the wireless charging structure (Sauterel Fig. 2, wherein the recess is formed to have increased surface area in contact with the modular insert).
Regarding Claim 14, Sauterel further teaches wherein the housing coupled with the wireless charging structure comprises a rear plate (Sauterel Fig. 2, see bottom of the housing 220 of the input device).
Regarding Claim 15, Sauterel further teaches wherein a first area of the wireless charging structure, in which the wireless charging coil is disposed, is positioned on an inner surface of the rear plate (Sauterel Fig. 2, wherein the modular insert is positioned on an inner surface of the bottom of the housing), and a second area of the wireless charging structure, which extends from an edge of the first area, is disposed up to a side surface of the rear plate (Sauterel Fig. 2, wherein the sides of the modular insert are disposed along the sides of the cavity formed by the bottom of the housing).
Regarding Claim 16, Sauterel teaches an electronic device (Sauterel Fig. 2, see input device 200) comprising:
a housing forming at least a portion of an exterior of the electronic device (Sauterel Fig. 2 and paragraph [0039], see housing 220);
a wireless charging structure at least partially positioned in a recess formed in an inner surface of the housing (Sauterel Figs. 2 and 3 and paragraphs [0039] and [0041], see removable modular insert having inductive coils within the cavity 260); and
a circuit board disposed in the housing and electrically connected with the wireless charging structure (Sauterel Fig. 3 and paragraph [0041]-[0042], see board having a processor 350 that is connected to and controls the operation of the coil),
wherein the wireless charging structure includes:
a wireless charging coil (Sauterel Fig. 3 and paragraph [0041], see coil 390); and
an insert portion formed to surround at least a portion of the wireless charging coil (Sauterel Fig. 3, see modular insert portions surrounding the coil 390), and
wherein the insert portion includes a guide slot configured to align a position of the wireless charging coil (Sauterel Fig. 4 and paragraphs [0049]-[0051], wherein the modular insert may include a hybrid approach to coupling, including utilizing screws which have screwholes or guide slots).
Regarding Claim 17, Sauterel further teaches wherein an area of the recess of the housing includes at least one protrusion for coupling with the insert portion (Sauterel Figs. 3 and 4 and paragraph [0049], wherein the housing includes protrusions in the cavity in the form of magnets 420 and 430), and
wherein the insert portion includes at least one receiving portion disposed along an edge of the wireless charging structure configured to couple with the at least one protrusion (Sauterel Figs. 3 and 4 and paragraph [0049], wherein the magnets 420 and 430 are coupled to the contacts 412 and 414 of the removable modular insert, the contacts 412 and 414 being along the edge of the removable modular insert).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 9-10, 12, and 18-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sauterel as applied to claims 1 and 16 above, and further in view of Wagman et al., hereinafter Wagman, US Publication No. 2015/0302971.
Regarding Claim 9, Sauterel does not explicitly teach wherein an injected material for the housing includes a thermoplastic material, and wherein an injected material for the insert portion includes a thermosetting material.
Wagman teaches wherein an injected material for the housing includes a thermoplastic material, and wherein an injected material for the insert portion includes a thermosetting material (Wagman paragraph [0036], wherein materials to form the coil substrate, i.e. insert portion, includes thermoplastic or thermoset material, which when taken in view of Sauterel paragraph [0049] also teaches that the housing may be made of such materials).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Sauterel and Wagman to apply the known technique of forming induction coils in molded shapes as taught by Wagman to improve on the induction coils as taught by Sauterel, yielding the predictable results of more versatile shapes and improved electrical performance for electronic devices.
Regarding Claim 10, Sauterel does not explicitly teach wherein the wireless charging coil is molded along with the insert portion and forms a woven structure along with the insert portion hardened over time by heat to be coupled to form an integrated structure.
Wagman teaches wherein the wireless charging coil is molded along with the insert portion and forms a woven structure along with the insert portion hardened over time by heat to be coupled to form an integrated structure (Wagman paragraphs [0035]-[0036], wherein the coil is a molded coil that is cured, i.e. hardened over time by heat in thermoset materials).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Sauterel and Wagman to apply the known technique of forming induction coils in molded shapes as taught by Wagman to improve on the induction coils as taught by Sauterel, yielding the predictable results of more versatile shapes and improved electrical performance for electronic devices.
Regarding Claim 12, Sauterel does not explicitly teach wherein, for coupling between the housing and the wireless charging structure, at least a portion of an edge of the recess of the housing forms an inversely tapered shape.
Wagman teaches wherein, for coupling between the housing and the wireless charging structure, at least a portion of an edge of the recess of the housing forms an inversely tapered shape (Wagman Fig. 6 and paragraph [0052], wherein the shapes of the cavities of the housings include inversely tapered shapes).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Sauterel and Wagman to apply the known technique of forming induction coils in molded shapes as taught by Wagman to improve on the induction coils as taught by Sauterel, yielding the predictable results of more versatile shapes and improved electrical performance for electronic devices.
Regarding Claim 18, Sauterel does not explicitly teach wherein an injected material of the housing includes a thermoplastic material, and an injected material of the insert portion includes a thermosetting material.
Wagman teaches wherein an injected material of the housing includes a thermoplastic material, and an injected material of the insert portion includes a thermosetting material (Wagman paragraph [0036], wherein materials to form the coil substrate, i.e. insert portion, includes thermoplastic or thermoset material, which when taken in view of Sauterel paragraph [0049] also teaches that the housing may be made of such materials).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Sauterel and Wagman to apply the known technique of forming induction coils in molded shapes as taught by Wagman to improve on the induction coils as taught by Sauterel, yielding the predictable results of more versatile shapes and improved electrical performance for electronic devices.
Regarding Claim 19, Sauterel does not explicitly teach wherein the recess of the housing forms an inversely tapered shape at an edge thereof to couple the housing with the wireless charging structure.
Wagman teaches wherein the recess of the housing forms an inversely tapered shape at an edge thereof to couple the housing with the wireless charging structure (Wagman Fig. 6 and paragraph [0052], wherein the shapes of the cavities of the housings include inversely tapered shapes).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Sauterel and Wagman to apply the known technique of forming induction coils in molded shapes as taught by Wagman to improve on the induction coils as taught by Sauterel, yielding the predictable results of more versatile shapes and improved electrical performance for electronic devices.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-7 and 20 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Regarding Claim 3, the prior art of record, whether singly or in combination, fails to teach or suggest the following claim limitations:
wherein the guide slot includes:
a first guide slot positioned to wholly or partially surround an outer line of the wireless charging coil, and
a second guide slot configured to allow the wireless charging coil to maintain a height from a surface of the insert portion.
Regarding Claim 20, the prior art of record, whether singly or in combination, fails to teach or suggest the following claim limitations:
wherein the guide slot includes:
a first guide slot positioned to wholly or partially surround an outer line of the wireless charging coil, and
a second guide slot formed to allow the wireless charging coil to maintain a same height from a surface of the insert portion.
Claims 4-7 would be allowable based on their dependency to Claim 3 for the reasons stated above.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ERIC D LEE whose telephone number is (571)270-7098. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday.
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/ERIC D LEE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2851