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 .
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.
Claim(s) 7-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Peretz et al. (US 2020/0287413)
Re Claims 7, 11 and 12; Peretz disclose a non-contact power supply device for supplying power to a load the non-contact power supply device comprising:
an inverter (11) to convert power supplied from a power supply into a predetermined AC power, the inverter including a plurality of switches (Q1-Q4);
a feeder (CM) provided to transmit the AC power to the Load;
a filter circuit (17) provided between the inverter and the feeder and including a reactor (Lp) and a capacitor (CP); and
a controller (Primary controller) configured or programmed to perform power control of the AC power that is to be supplied to the feeder; (Par 0083)
wherein the controller (Primary controller) is configured or programmed to obtain a current value output from the inverter while changing a switching frequency of the switches of the inverter in a state in which a current having a predetermined value flows through the feeder, (the placement of the current sensor continuously receiver the current data regardless of the state of the switches) and to set and output a reactor value of the reactor and a capacitance value of the capacitor so that the current value becomes a minimum value at a predetermined frequency based on the switching frequency at which the current value is a minimum value. (Par 0086-7)
Peretz does not disclose a traveling vehicle traveling on a track rail in a non-contact manner,
However, vehicle traveling on a track rail in a non-contact manner are known and it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing of the invention to have used the device of Peretz on traveling vehicle traveling on a track rail in a non-contact manner in order to provide wireless power with its advantages to the vehicle such as protecting charging ports from damage caused by repeated plugging and unplugging.
Re Claim 8; Peretz disclose wherein the controller is configured or programmed to set the predetermined value of the current that flows through the feeder to a value below a current required to drive traveling of the load. (The tuning circuit tunes the current to whatever the load requires which would be a value below a current required to drive traveling of the load Par 0076 to regulate a target current/power to the receiving side at best power transfer conditions.)
Re Claim 9; Peretz disclose wherein the controller is configured or programmed to change the switching frequency in steps within a predetermined range. (Claim 3)
Re Claim 10; Peretz disclose wherein the controller is configured or programmed to include a table in which the switching frequency is associated with the reactor value of the reactor and the capacitance value of the capacitor, and to obtain the reactor value of the reactor and the capacitance value of the capacitor from the table based on the switching frequency at which the current value is the minimum value. (controllers holds the table in which the switching frequency)
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 11/11/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant argues For at least the following reasons, Peretz fails to teach or suggest all of the features and method steps recited in Applicant's claims 7 and 12.
Peretz discloses in paragraphs [0086] and [0087] to adjust the inductance value of Lp to obtain a target constant current (and power). This constant current (and power) can be interpreted as the current (power) supplied to the secondary side. Therefore, the constant current of Peretz is different from Applicant's recited "current value output from the inverter".
Furthermore, Peretz does not teach or suggest adjusting parameters (i.e., the inductance of the reactor and the capacitance of the capacitor) such that the current value becomes a minimum at a predetermined frequency.
However, the examiner respectfully disagrees. As shown in Fig. 1, Perez discloses obtaining a constant current (active current) from the inverter (Ip) while changing a switching frequency of the switches. The idea is to regulate the current to a target current (minimum current) at a predetermined frequency.
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 DANIEL KESSIE whose telephone number is (571)272-4449. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8am-5pmEst.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Rexford Barnie can be reached at (571) 272-7492. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/DANIEL KESSIE/
01/15/2026
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2836