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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The IDS filed on 12/06/2022 has been considered and made of record.
Oath/Declaration
The oath/declaration filed on 12/06/2022 is acceptable.
Claim Objections
Claims 7-8 are objected to because of the following informalities: A period should enter at the end of claims 7 and 8. Appropriate correction is required.
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 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 1-2 and 9-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Watanabe et al. [US 5,909,100] in view of Meyer-Ebeling [US 2013/0023141].
Regarding claim 1, Watanabe et al., disclose a WPT coupling device (figures 1-27) with adjustable mechanism of stabilization and locking of a male part (10, figure 4), composed of a rigid bracket (11, figure 4) to which is rigidly connected a stiff shaped body (19, figure 4) and with appropriate thicknesses (a thickness of the extended portion 19, figure 4) a plate (12, figure 4) containing WPT receiving coil (a disk-like core 13, figure 4, col. 4, lines 45-50), to a female part (30, figure 4) comprising a rigid bracket (31, figure 4), complete with a guide (39B, wherein a position hole 39B guides a corresponding protrusion 19A from the male part, figure 4) functional to the engage and block of said stiff body of the male part, to said rigid bracket is rigidly connected with suitable thicknesses, a plate (32, figure 4) containing WPT electric transmission coil (a disk-like core 33, figure 4, col. 7, lines 17-25), such that the engage of the rigid body of the male part and the sliding in the guide of the rigid bracket of the female part.
Watanabe et al., disclose the claimed invention except for the engage of the male part and the female part detected by presence sensors, and determined the action of a piston of electro-mechanical block rigidly connected to the rigid bracket of the female part, which crossing guide through a suitable hole blocks stiff body of the male part in the rigid bracket of the female part in the position in which the receiving plate and the transmitting plate are located in the desired specular and parallel correspondence and at the desired inter-distance, optimal for the WPT energy transfer from the said transmitting plate to the said receiving plate, in which desired specular and parallel correspondence and desired inter-distance remain stably until the disjunction of the male part from the female part of the device, after retraction of the locking piston and disengage of the stiff body of the male part from guide of the rigid bracket of the device female part.
Meyer-Ebeling discloses a WPT coupling device (figures 1-3) comprising a male coupling part (7, figure 1) and a female coupling part (4, figure 1), wherein an engage of the male coupling part and the female coupling part detected by presence sensors (a correct charging position of the charging plug 7 can be detected by presence sensor(s), paragraph 0032), and determined an action of a piston (locking portion 13, figure 1) of electro-mechanical block rigidly (11/12, figure 1; paragraph 0031) connected to a rigid bracket of the female coupling part (5 & 6, figure 1), which crossing guide through a suitable hole blocks stiff body of the male coupling part (figures 1 and/or 3) in the rigid bracket of the female part in the position in which the receiving plate and the transmitting plate are located in the desired specular and parallel correspondence and at the desired inter-distance (figures 1 and/or 3), optimal for the WPT energy transfer from the male coupling part to the female coupling part, in which desired specular and parallel correspondence and desired inter-distance remain stably until the disjunction of the male coupling part from the female coupling part of the device, after retraction of the locking piston and disengage of the stiff body of the male coupling part from guide of the rigid bracket of the device female coupling part (figure 1).
It would have been to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to use an engaging assembly of Meyer-Ebeling with a coupling device of Watanabe et al., for the purpose of improving the alignment of inductive coils in a male and female coupling parts, combining both mechanical and magnetic principles.
Regarding claim 2, Watanabe et al., disclose a WPT coupling device (figures 1-27) with adjustable mechanism of stabilization and locking of a male part (10, figure 4), composed of a rigid bracket (11, figure 4) to which is rigidly connected a stiff shaped body (19, figure 4) and with appropriate thicknesses (a thickness of the extended portion 19, figure 4) a plate (12, figure 4) containing WPT receiving coil (a disk-like core 13, figure 4, col. 4, lines 45-50), to a female part (30, figure 4) comprising a rigid bracket (31, figure 4), complete with a guide (39B, wherein a position hole 39B guides a corresponding protrusion 19A from the male part, figure 4) functional to the engage and block of said stiff body of the male part, to said rigid bracket is rigidly connected with suitable thicknesses, a plate (32, figure 4) containing WPT electric transmission coil (a disk-like core 33, figure 4, col. 7, lines 17-25), such that the engage of the rigid body of the male part and the sliding in the guide of the rigid bracket of the female part.
Watanabe et al., disclose the claimed invention except for the engage of rigid body of the male part and the sliding in the guide of the rigid bracket of the female part, determines the relaxation of the release spring of piston of electro- mechanical locking, rigidly connected to the rigid bracket, which locks the stiff body of the male part in the rigid bracket of the female part in the position where the receiving plate and the transmitting plate are located in the desired specular and parallel correspondence and at the desired inter-distance, optimal for the WPT energy transfer from the said transmitting plate to the said receiving plate, in which desired specular and parallel correspondence and desired inter-distance remain stably until the disjunction of the male part from the female part of the device, after retraction of the locking piston and disengage of the stiff body of the male part from guide of the rigid bracket of the device female part.
Meyer-Ebeling discloses a WPT coupling device (figures 1-3) comprising a male coupling part (7, figure 1) and a female coupling part (4, figure 1), wherein an engage of the male coupling part and the female coupling part determines the relaxation of the release spring of piston (a locking portion 13, figure 1, the locking portion is controlled by a spring, paragraph 0032) of electro- mechanical locking (11/12, figure 1; paragraph 0031), rigidly connected to the rigid bracket, which locks the stiff body of the male coupling part in the rigid bracket of the female coupling part (5 & 6, figure 1), in the position where the receiving plate and the transmitting plate are in the desired specular and parallel correspondence and at the desired inter-distance, optimal for the WPT energy transfer from the said transmitting plate to the said receiving plate, in which the desired specular and parallel correspondence and the desired inter-distance remain stably until the disjunction of the male part from the female part of the device, after retraction of the locking piston of the electro-mechanical block and disengaged of rigid body of the male part from the rigid bracket of the device female coupling part (figure 1).
It would have been to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to use an engaging assembly of Meyer-Ebeling with a coupling device of Watanabe et al., for the purpose of improving the alignment of inductive coils in a male and female coupling parts, combining both mechanical and magnetic principles.
Regarding claim 9, Watanabe et al., in view of Meyer-Ebeling, disclose the rigid bracket of the female part to which the transmitting plate is connected and to the rigid bracket of the male part to which is connected the transmitter plate, thicknesses are applicable and/or removable to record the inter-distance between the transmitting plate and the receiving plate (figures 4 and 20-21).
Regarding claim 10, Watanabe et al., in view of Meyer-Ebeling, disclose the stiff shaped body rigidly connected to the rigid bracket of the male part is provided with a CL collar, circular or quadratic for its anchoring, rigid and integral to a free body (19, figure 4).
Regarding claim 11, Watanabe et al., disclose the claimed invention except for the retraction of the piston is electronically controlled by a plc/pc with various possibilities of interaction also in-cloud.
Meyer-Ebeling further discloses the retraction of the piston is electronically controlled by a plc/pc with various possibilities of interaction also in-cloud (the drive device 12 can be a pneumatic, hydraulic and/or electric actuator, paragraph 0031).
It would have been to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to use a piston design of Meyer-Ebeling, in a WPT coupling device of Watanabe et al., in order to improve accuracy, flexibility and reliability of a WPT coupling device.
Regarding claim 12, Watanabe et al., disclose the claimed invention except for the retraction of the piston is controlled manually and electronically by a pic/pc with various possibilities of interaction also in-cloud.
Meyer-Ebeling further discloses the retraction of the piston is controlled manually and electronically by a plc/pc with various possibilities of interaction also in-cloud (the drive device 12 can be a pneumatic, hydraulic and/or electric actuator, paragraph 0031).
It would have been to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to use a piston design of Meyer-Ebeling, in a WPT coupling device of Watanabe et al., in order to improve accuracy, flexibility and reliability of a WPT coupling device.
Regarding claim 13, Watanabe et al., in view of Meyer-Ebeling further discloses the rigid bracket of the female part can be connected to the electrical device to be recharged and therefore host a receiving plate and conversely the rigid bracket of the male part can connect a transmitting plate (figure 4).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3, 4-5, 6-7 and 8 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:
The claim 3 discloses the combination features of “the engage of the rigid body of the male part and the sliding in the guide of the rigid bracket of the female part, determines the relaxation of the pressure release spring, rigidly connected in the guide of the rigid bracket, which stops mechanically the stiff body of the male part in said guide in the position in which the receiving plate and the transmitting plate are in the desired specular and parallel correspondence and at the desired inter-distance, optimal for the WPT energy transfer from said transmitting plate to said receiving plate, in which the desired specular and parallel correspondence and the desired inter-distance remain stably until the disjunction of the male part from the female part of the device, after compression of the spring of said presser upon disengaged of stiff body of the male part from guide of the rigid bracket of the device female part.” These features, in conjunction with other features, as claimed in the combination features of the claims 2 and 1, were neither found to be disclosed, nor suggested by the prior art of records.
The claim 4 discloses the combination features of “a rigid bracket which parallel to the first is connected to it by one or more elastic elements, consisting of an elastic body, in natural rubber, or synthetic mix, suitably joined with steel ends for screwing into appropriate holes present in the corresponding position on both said rigid brackets and included in the female part.” These features, in conjunction with other features, as claimed in the claim 1, were neither found to be disclosed, nor suggested by the prior art of records. Claim 5 depends on the allowed claim 4.
The claim 6 discloses the combination features of “a stiff body, consisting of two overlapped concentric base cylinders which crosses the aperture placed in the further rigid bracket, included in the female part, and on whose major base it has a protrusion that limits the rotation of the cylindrical body in the space between the tops of the elastic pins that connect the two rigid brackets included in the female part, thereby also limiting the rotary component of the roto-translational motion of the bracket to which the plate is connected.” These features, in conjunction with other features, as claimed in the claim 1, were neither found to be disclosed, nor suggested by the prior art of records. Claim 7 depends on the allowed claim 6.
The claim 8 discloses the combination features of “at the ends of the elastic elements that connect the two rigid brackets included in the device female part, it is possible to apply thickness rings useful for the micro-regulation of the roto movements -translative of the rigid bracket in which is recessed the guide for sliding the rigid body functional for coupling the male part to the female part.” These features, in conjunction with other features, as claimed in the claim 1, were neither found to be disclosed, nor suggested by the prior art of records.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
Kuki et al. [US 5,850,135] disclose connecting system and a connection method;
Liu et al. [US 6,943,527] disclose docking module exchangeable with battery module of ultra-thin notebook computer;
Carver et al. [US 7,291,032] disclose connector for adjacent devices; and
Ohtomo [US 2009/0286414] discloses electric vehicle control device.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Hung S. Bui whose telephone number is (571)272-2102. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F: 8am-5pm.
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/HUNG S. BUI/
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2841
/Hung S. Bui/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2841