DETAILED ACTION
Status of the Claims
In the communication dated December 16, 2025, claims 1-3, 5-18 and 20-33 are pending. Claims 1-2, 8, 13, 16-17, 23-24, 28 and 31-33 are amended and claims 4 and 19 are presently cancelled.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Response to Arguments
The applicant argues that Lee does not teach proactively ceasing transmission of wireless power using time slices to keep discrete components at temperatures below a thermal limit (see pages 14-15 of the applicant’s response).
The reference of Water teaches each of the limitations with the exception that by stopping the transmission of power the temperature is decreased. This is taught by Lee which describes that the power supply is interrupted when an upper limit temperature threshold is reached and by ceasing the transmission of power the temperature is maintained to a level below the upper limit. Because it is the reference of Waters that teaches the concept of ceasing transmission of wireless power using time slices, and Water’s is being used to teach the condition that ceases the transmission, the argument is not persuasive.
The applicant argues that a person of ordinary skill in the art would not be motivated to modify Waters’ time division multiplexing to prevent overcharging a device in a no-load state since Waters’ prioritization and charging scheme would not contemplate such a condition from ever occurring (see pages 15-16 of the applicant remarks).
However, the Waters and Lee are analogous because they both relate to the wireless transmission of power. Lee teaches that the charging should be interrupted to protect the battery and prevent damage (¶10). Thus, the concept of stopping the voltage, not only for optimization purposes but also to prevent damage by overheating is within the scope of Waters’ as a system that is overtemperature is not an optimal system. Thus, this argument is not persuasive.
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 1-3, 5-6, 8, 10, 16-18, 20-22 and 25 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over B. H. Waters, P. R. Fidelman, J. D. Raines and J. R. Smith, "Simultaneously tuning and powering multiple wirelessly powered devices," 2015 IEEE Wireless Power Transfer Conference (WPTC), Boulder, CO, USA, 2015, pp. 1-4, doi: 10.1109/WPT.2015.7140177 (hereinafter “Water”) in view of Lee et al. US20180351406A1.
Regarding claim 1. Water discloses a wireless power transmission apparatus (the wireless power transmitter illustrated in FIG. 1 and 2 and detailed in section II.A) comprising:
a first primary coil configured to transmit a first wireless power to a first wireless power reception apparatus (Section II.A – the transmitter coil consists of seven separate coils on a single PCV; FIG. 1).
a power control unit (TMS320 Digital Signal Processor introduced in Section II.A) configured to
detect the first wireless power reception apparatus in proximity to the first primary coil of the wireless power transmission apparatus (section III – an RF detector on the transmitter side is able to detect forward and reflected signals),
determine first time slices during which to power the first primary coil to cause the first primary coil to transmit the first wireless power to the first wireless power reception apparatus (Section III.D – Time Division Multiplexing – TDM; in the example given in the last paragraph in Section IV, the time slices have a duration of 30 seconds).
cause the first primary coil to cease transmission of the first wireless power to the first wireless power reception apparatus during second time slices (power transfer is stopped outside the allocated time slot).
Water does not explicitly disclose the cessation of transmission of the first wireless power keeps a temperature below a thermal limit in one or more components selected from a group consisting of an interface surface, the first primary coil, a second primary coil, a receiver coil, and electronics in the wireless power transmission apparatus
Lee teaches that the cessation of transmission of the first wireless power (¶110 – controller interrupts supply of power signal to the wireless power receiver) keeps a temperature below a thermal limit in one or more components selected from a group consisting of a receiver coil (¶109 – temperature of the transmitter is maintained within an upper limit threshold¶110 – power is interrupted for a period of time required to lower the temperature of the receiver) (¶110 – power supply interrupted when the temperature of the receiver needs to be lowered)
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to cease charging to lower the temperature, since it has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to apply a known technique to a known device (method, or product) ready for improvement to yield predictable results is obvious. KSR International Co. v Teleflex Inc., 550 U.S. 398, 127 S. Ct. 1727, 82 USPQ2d 1385, 1395-97 (2007). In the present case, an increase of temperature risks damaging a device and since it is well-known in the art that if charging is stopped, the temperature is reduced, it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art.
Regarding claim 2 and claim 17. Water discloses the power control unit is further configured to:
determine the second time slices during which to cease transmission of the first wireless power to the first wireless power reception apparatus, wherein the first time slices are interspersed with the second time slices (FIG. 7 illustrates different time division multiplexing or time slices).
Regarding claim 3 and claim 18. Water discloses a battery is associated with the first wireless power reception apparatus (wireless power receivers includes a battery – FIG. 1), wherein the battery is configured to charge up to a percentage of battery capacity in a first time period (section IV – if the voltage is less than 6V, the receiver is not wirelessly but rather powered by the battery), wherein the first time period is substantially similar to a second time period for continuously charging the battery up to the charge percentage (FIG. 7 – the charging performed by the battery under 6V is similar in time when over 6V).
Regarding claim 5 and claim 20. Water does not explicitly disclose that the power control unit is further configured to: determine, during one or more of the first time slices, that a thermal limit has been exceeded, and cease, in response to the determination that thermal limit has been exceeded, provision of the first wireless power to the first wireless power reception apparatus during the one or more of the first time slices.
Lee discloses to determine, during one or more of the first time slices, that a thermal limit has been exceeded (¶109 – determination as to whether the temperature is within the threshold range), and
cease, in response to the determination that thermal limit has been exceeded, provision of the first wireless power to the first wireless power reception apparatus during the one or more of the first time slices (¶110 – temporarily interrupt the supply of power until the temperature is lowered).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to cease charging to lower the temperature, since it has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to apply a known technique to a known device (method, or product) ready for improvement to yield predictable results is obvious. KSR International Co. v Teleflex Inc., 550 U.S. 398, 127 S. Ct. 1727, 82 USPQ2d 1385, 1395-97 (2007). In the present case, an increase of temperature risks damaging a device and since it is well-known in the art that if charging is stopped, the temperature is reduced, it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art.
Regarding claim 6 and claim 21. Water does not explicitly disclose that the thermal limit indicates a maximum temperature of an interface surface of the wireless power transmission apparatus.
Lee discloses that the thermal limit indicates a maximum temperature of an interface surface of the wireless power transmission apparatus (¶18 – measure a temperatures of the transmitter and determine whether the temperature is maintained within an upper threshold range).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to cease charging to lower the temperature, since it has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to apply a known technique to a known device (method, or product) ready for improvement to yield predictable results is obvious. KSR International Co. v Teleflex Inc., 550 U.S. 398, 127 S. Ct. 1727, 82 USPQ2d 1385, 1395-97 (2007). In the present case, an increase of temperature risks damaging a device and since it is well-known in the art that if charging is stopped, the temperature is reduced, it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art.
Regarding claim 8 and claim 23. Water discloses detect a second wireless power reception apparatus in proximity to the second primary coil of the wireless power transmission apparatus (Section II.A – last paragraph – Tx consists of seven separate coils) (FIG. 1; section I, last paragraph – multiple receivers thus having a second primary coil), and
determine second time slices during which to power the second primary coil to cause the second primary coil to transmit a second wireless power to the second wireless power reception apparatus, wherein the second time slices are interspersed with the first time slices (FIG. 1; section I, last paragraph – multiple receivers thus having a second primary coil; section III.D – system delivery to a subset of devices, RXs charge simultaneously while others remain unpowered even while in range of the TX coils); and
the second primary coil configured to transmit the second wireless power to the second wireless power reception apparatus (section III.D – system delivery to a subset of devices, RXs charge simultaneously while others remain unpowered even while in range of the TX coils).
Regarding claim 10 and claim 25. Water discloses that the first time slices has a first duration and each of the second time slices has a second duration (FIG. 7).
determine a charge state of a battery (current) associated with the second wireless power reception apparatus (FIG. 4 - current versus time for each battery),
Water does not explicitly teach that increase the first duration based on the charge state, and decrease the second duration based on the charge state.
increase the first duration based on the charge state, and
decrease the second duration based on the charge state (FIG. 4 – current versus time for each receiver – the time is increased or decreased according to the charging current).
Regarding claim 16. Water discloses a method for controlling a wireless power transmission apparatus (the wireless power transmitter illustrated in FIG. 1 and 2 and detailed in section II.A), the method comprising:
detecting, by a power control unit of the wireless power transmission apparatus (TMS320 Digital Signal Processor introduced in Section II.A), a first wireless power reception apparatus in proximity to a first primary coil of the wireless power transmission apparatus (Section II.A – the transmitter coil consists of seven separate coils on a single PCV; FIG. 1);
determining, by the power control unit, first time slices during which to power a first primary coil to cause the first primary coil to transmit a first wireless power to a first wireless power reception apparatus (Section III.D – Time Division Multiplexing – TDM; in the example given in the last paragraph in Section IV, the time slices have a duration of 30 seconds); and
transmitting, by the first primary coil, the first wireless power to the first wireless power reception apparatus during the first time slices (Section III.D – Time Division Multiplexing – charge RX).
causing the first primary coil to cease transmission of the first wireless power to the first wireless power reception apparatus during second time slices (power transfer is stopped outside the allocated time slot).
Water does not explicitly disclose the cessation of transmission of the first wireless power keeps a temperature below a thermal limit in one or more components selected from a group consisting of an interface surface, the first primary coil, a second primary coil, a receiver coil, and electronics in the wireless power transmission apparatus
Lee teaches that the cessation of transmission of the first wireless power (¶110 – controller interrupts supply of power signal to the wireless power receiver) keeps a temperature below a thermal limit in one or more components selected from a group consisting of a receiver coil (¶109 – temperature of the transmitter is maintained within an upper limit threshold¶110 – power is interrupted for a period of time required to lower the temperature of the receiver) (¶110 – power supply interrupted when the temperature of the receiver needs to be lowered)
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to cease charging to lower the temperature, since it has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to apply a known technique to a known device (method, or product) ready for improvement to yield predictable results is obvious. KSR International Co. v Teleflex Inc., 550 U.S. 398, 127 S. Ct. 1727, 82 USPQ2d 1385, 1395-97 (2007). In the present case, an increase of temperature risks damaging a device and since it is well-known in the art that if charging is stopped, the temperature is reduced, it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art.
Claims 7 and 22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over B. H. Waters, P. R. Fidelman, J. D. Raines and J. R. Smith, "Simultaneously tuning and powering multiple wirelessly powered devices," 2015 IEEE Wireless Power Transfer Conference (WPTC), Boulder, CO, USA, 2015, pp. 1-4, doi: 10.1109/WPT.2015.7140177 (hereinafter “Water”) in view of Lee et al. US20180351406A1 and further in view of Zeine et al. WO2016200911A1.
Regarding claim 7 and claim 22. Water does not explicitly disclose that the first wireless power reception apparatus is associated with a device rating, and wherein a duration of the first time slices is based, at least in part, on the device rating.
Zeine discloses that the wireless power delivery is based on the model (FIG. 7) and thus, the first wireless power reception apparatus is associated with a device rating,
Zeine discloses a duration of the first time slices is based, at least in part, on the device rating (¶39 – power receiver generates a beacon signal and broadcasts the beacon during an assigned beacon transmission window (or time slice). FIG. 7 – the beacon is controlled according to the model).
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to adjust the time slices for a model type in order to include a broader array of devices and take into account their different power requirements (Zeine; abstract).
Claims 9 and 24 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over B. H. Waters, P. R. Fidelman, J. D. Raines and J. R. Smith, "Simultaneously tuning and powering multiple wirelessly powered devices," 2015 IEEE Wireless Power Transfer Conference (WPTC), Boulder, CO, USA, 2015, pp. 1-4, doi: 10.1109/WPT.2015.7140177 (hereinafter “Water”) in view of Lee et al. US20180351406A1 and in view of Melgarejo et al. US20190356152A1.
Regarding claim 9 and claim 24. Water does not explicitly teach that the power control unit is further configured to: determine that a battery charge threshold associated with the second wireless power reception apparatus has been exceeded, and cause the second primary coil to cease transmission of the second wireless power during one or more of the second time slices in response to the determination that the battery charge threshold has been exceeded; and the second primary coil further configured to cease transmission of the second wireless power to the second wireless power reception apparatus in response to the determination that the battery charge threshold has been exceeded.
Melgarejo discloses to determine that a battery charge threshold (¶36) associated with the second wireless power reception apparatus has been exceeded (¶36 – voltage or current is above a threshold), and
Melgarejo discloses to cause the second primary coil to cease transmission of the second wireless power during one or more of the second time slices in response to the determination that the battery charge threshold has been exceeded (¶36 – charging is halted when the voltage/current are above a threshold); and
Melgarejo discloses the second primary coil further configured to cease transmission of the second wireless power to the second wireless power reception apparatus in response to the determination that the battery charge threshold has been exceeded (¶36 – charging is halted when the voltage/current are above a threshold).
It would be obvious to a person of ordinary skill to only charge the coil when the voltage and current are within a particular range to avoid damaging the device due to overvoltage/overcurrent.
Claims 11 and 26 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over B. H. Waters, P. R. Fidelman, J. D. Raines and J. R. Smith, "Simultaneously tuning and powering multiple wirelessly powered devices," 2015 IEEE Wireless Power Transfer Conference (WPTC), Boulder, CO, USA, 2015, pp. 1-4, doi: 10.1109/WPT.2015.7140177 (hereinafter “Water”) in view of Lee et al. US20180351406A1 and further in view of Li US20100253281A1.
Regarding claim 11 and claim 26. Waters discloses each of the first time slices is of a first duration and each of the second time slices is of a second duration (FIG. 7),
Water does not explicitly disclose that the power control unit further configured to determine a user-configurable charging priority associated with the second wireless power reception apparatus; modify the first duration based on the user-configurable charging priority.
Li discloses to determine a user-configurable charging priority associated with the second wireless power reception apparatus (¶59 – wireless charger is adapted to use configurable attributes including defining the priority order of the devices); and
modify the first duration based on the user-configurable charging priority (¶66 – scheduling application updates a charging schedule at any time during the charging process).
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention to allow a user to set the priority of charging a plurality of devices in order to ensure charging of a device with a high priority (Li; ¶59).
Claims 12 and 27 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over B. H. Waters, P. R. Fidelman, J. D. Raines and J. R. Smith, "Simultaneously tuning and powering multiple wirelessly powered devices," 2015 IEEE Wireless Power Transfer Conference (WPTC), Boulder, CO, USA, 2015, pp. 1-4, doi: 10.1109/WPT.2015.7140177 (hereinafter “Water”) in view of Lee et al. US20180351406A1 and further in view of Kim US20120295634A1.
Regarding claim 12 and claim 27. Water does not explicitly disclose a first user interface (UI) configured to present indicia indicating charging status of at least one of the first primary coil and the second primary coil.
Kim discloses a first user interface (UI) (¶310-312 – controller contains a display) configured to present indicia indicating charging status of at least one of the first primary coil and the second primary coil (¶310-312 – displays charging efficiency information of the transmitting device).
It would be obvious to a person of ordinary skill to provide the user a way to monitor the charging status of the transmitter to allow for more efficient charging.
Claims 13-15, 28-29 and 30-33 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over B. H. Waters, P. R. Fidelman, J. D. Raines and J. R. Smith, "Simultaneously tuning and powering multiple wirelessly powered devices," 2015 IEEE Wireless Power Transfer Conference (WPTC), Boulder, CO, USA, 2015, pp. 1-4, doi: 10.1109/WPT.2015.7140177 (hereinafter “Water”) in view of Lee et al. US20180351406A1 and further in view of Bhat et al. US20200212721A1.
Regarding claim 13 and claim 28. Water teaches to determine second time slices during which to power the primary coil to cause the primary coil to transmit a second wireless power to the second wireless power reception apparatus (section I, last paragraph - TDM allows for one or more RX devices to be powered wirelessly when multiple RXs are placed on the transmitting coil)
provide the second wireless power to the primary coil during the second time slices (section I, last paragraph - TDM allows for one or more RX devices to be powered wirelessly when multiple RXs are placed on the transmitting coil).
Water does not explicitly disclose another power control unit configured to detect a second wireless power reception apparatus in proximity to the second primary coil of the wireless power transmission apparatus, the second primary coil configured to transmit the second wireless power to the second wireless power reception apparatus.
Bhat discloses another power control unit (FIG. 1: each transmitting coil includes a local controller;¶45) configured to
detect a second wireless power reception apparatus in proximity to the second primary coil of the wireless power transmission apparatus (¶50 – wireless receiver near the second primary coil 122),
the second primary coil configured to transmit the second wireless power to the second wireless power reception apparatus (¶50).
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to provide a plurality of coils to charge a plurality of receiving devices to allow for a greater power transfer capability (Bhat; ¶3).
Regarding claim 14 and claim 29. Water discloses that the second time slices are interspersed with the first time slices (section III.D – subset of RXs charge simultaneously).
Regarding claim 15 and claim 30. Although Water teaches charging a plurality of receivers, each being said to have different time slices, Water does not explicitly teach another power control unit configured to power the first primary coil, wherein the first wireless power is based on power from each of the power control units.
Bhat discloses another power control unit (132) configured to power the first primary coil (122), wherein the first wireless power is based on power from each of the power control units (¶50 – each of the wireless coils 121/122 are used to provide power and are controlled by local controllers 131/132).
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to provide a plurality of coils to charge a plurality of receiving devices to allow for a greater power transfer capability (Bhat; ¶3).
Regarding claim 31. Water discloses a wireless power transmission apparatus (the wireless power transmitter illustrated in FIG. 1 and 2 and detailed in section II.A) comprising:
a first primary coil of a plurality of primary coils configured to transmit a first wireless power to a first wireless power reception apparatus (Section II.A – the transmitter coil consists of seven separate coils on a single PCV; FIG. 1).
a power control unit (TMS320 Digital Signal Processor introduced in Section II.A) configured to
detect the first wireless power reception apparatus in proximity to the first primary coil of the wireless power transmission apparatus (section III – an RF detector on the transmitter side is able to detect forward and reflected signals), and
determine first time slices during which to power the first primary coil to cause the first primary coil to transmit the first wireless power to the first wireless power reception apparatus (Section III.D – Time Division Multiplexing – TDM; in the example given in the last paragraph in Section IV, the time slices have a duration of 30 seconds).
cease transmission of the first wireless power to the first wireless power reception apparatus during the one or more of the first time slices (power transfer is stopped outside the allocated time slot).
Water teaches to determine second time slices during which to power the first primary coil to cause the first primary coil to transmit a second wireless power to the second wireless power reception apparatus (FIG. 7 – rectified voltage increases in a different time slice).
Water does not explicitly disclose determine, during one or more of the first time slices, that a thermal limit has been exceeded, the cessation occurs based on the determination that thermal limit has been exceeded; and a second power control unit
Lee teaches to determine, during one or more of the first time slices, that a thermal limit has been exceeded (¶109 – temperature of the transmitter is maintained within an upper limit threshold¶110 – power is interrupted for a period of time required to lower the temperature of the receiver) (¶110 – power supply interrupted when the temperature of the receiver needs to be lowered);
the cessation occurs based on the determination that thermal limit has been exceeded (¶110 – controller interrupts supply of power signal to the wireless power receiver).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to cease charging to lower the temperature, since it has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to apply a known technique to a known device (method, or product) ready for improvement to yield predictable results is obvious. KSR International Co. v Teleflex Inc., 550 U.S. 398, 127 S. Ct. 1727, 82 USPQ2d 1385, 1395-97 (2007). In the present case, an increase of temperature risks damaging a device and since it is well-known in the art that if charging is stopped, the temperature is reduced, it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art.
Lee does not explicitly teach a second power control unit.
Bhat discloses a second power control unit (132/170).
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to provide a plurality of coils to charge a plurality of receiving devices to allow for a greater power transfer capability (Bhat; ¶3).
Regarding claim 32. Water discloses a second primary coil (Section II.A – last paragraph – Tx consists of seven separate coils) configured to transmit second wireless power to a second wireless power reception apparatus (section III.D – system delivery to a subset of devices, RXs charge simultaneously while others remain unpowered even while in range of the TX coils);
Although Water discloses a plurality of time slices (FIG. 7), Water does not explicitly teach that the second power control unit is further configured to power the second primary coil to cause the second primary coil to transmit the second wireless power to the second wireless power reception apparatus.
Bhat discloses that the second power control unit (132/170) is further configured to power the second primary coil to cause the second primary coil to transmit the second wireless power to the second wireless power reception apparatus (¶50 – wireless receiver near the second primary coil 122).
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to provide a plurality of coils to charge a plurality of receiving devices to allow for a greater power transfer capability (Bhat; ¶3).
Regarding claim 33. Water discloses the second power control unit further configured to:
determine fourth time slices (FIG. 7 illustrates different time division multiplexing or time slices) during which to cease transmission of the second wireless power to the first wireless power reception apparatus, wherein the first time slices are simultaneous with the second time slices (section III.D – system delivery to a subset of devices, RXs charge simultaneously while others remain unpowered even while in range of the TX coils).
Relevant Prior Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Yang CN110768396A – teaches determining the N temperature value is greater than the predetermined target temperature value wireless charging unit, controlling each target wireless charging unit in the association period for wireless charging. Stopping the wireless charging outside of its associated time period. See abstract.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PAMELA JEPPSON whose telephone number is (571)272-4094. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 7:30 AM - 5:00 PM..
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Drew Dunn can be reached at 571-272-2312. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/PAMELA J JEPPSON/Examiner, Art Unit 2859
/DREW A DUNN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2859