DETAILED ACTION
This is a first action on the merits, in response to the claims received 11/29/2022. Claims 1-12 are pending for prosecution below.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 1-3,10-12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhu et al, (Zhu), (USNO.2005/0132727) in combination with Ichikawa, (USNO.2014/0246901).
As for claim 1, Zhu discloses and shows in Fig.2 a control method for a vehicle-mounted wireless charger, wherein the vehicle-mounted wireless charger has a fan, and the control method comprises: establishing a functional relationship between a vehicle speed of a vehicle and a duty cycle of the fan; detecting a real-time vehicle speed of the vehicle when the fan is turned on; and determining and adjusting the duty cycle of the fan based on the real-time vehicle speed and the functional relationship, to control noise of the vehicle (par.[0033-0034])
Zhu discloses all limitations, but differs from the claimed invention because he does not explicitly disclose detecting vehicle-mounted wireless charger charges a device to be charged and the fan is turned on, to control noise of the vehicle-mounted wireless charger
Ichikawa discloses detecting vehicle-mounted wireless charger charges a device to be charged and the fan is turned on, to control noise of the vehicle-mounted wireless charger (par.[0051,0056])
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention was made to have modified the teachings of Zhu by detecting vehicle-mounted wireless charger charges a device to be charged and the fan is turned on, to control noise of the vehicle-mounted wireless charger for advantages such as improving power transfer efficiency (par.[0004]), as taught by Ichikawa.
As for claim 2, Zhu in combination with Ichikawa discloses and shows step of “determining and adjusting the duty cycle of the fan based on the real-time vehicle speed and the functional relationship” comprises: determining a theoretical duty cycle of the fan based on the real-time vehicle speed and the functional relationship; and controlling the fan to operate at the theoretical duty cycle.
As for claim 3, Zhu in combination with Ichikawa discloses and shows step of “determining and adjusting the duty cycle of the fan based on the real-time vehicle speed and the functional relationship” comprises: determining a theoretical duty cycle of the fan based on the real-time vehicle speed and the functional relationship; obtaining an output power of the vehicle-mounted wireless charger; comparing the output power with a preset power threshold; and when the output power is greater than the preset power threshold, controlling the fan to operate at the theoretical duty cycle (par.[0049-0051])
As for claim 10, Zhu in combination with Ichikawa discloses and shows detecting a temperature of the vehicle-mounted wireless charger after the vehicle-mounted wireless charger charges the device to be charged; comparing the temperature with a preset temperature threshold; and when the temperature is greater than the preset temperature threshold, controlling the fan to be turned on at an initial duty cycle.
As for claim 11, Zhu in combination with Ichikawa discloses and shows a vehicle-mounted wireless charger, wherein the vehicle-mounted wireless charger uses the control method for a vehicle-mounted wireless charger according to claim 1.
As for claim 12, Zhu in combination with Ichikawa discloses and shows A vehicle, wherein the vehicle comprises the vehicle-mounted wireless charger according to claim 11.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4,5-9 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:
Claim 4: after the step of “determining and adjusting the duty cycle of the fan based on the real-time vehicle speed and the functional relationship”, the control method further comprises: detecting an actual duty cycle of the fan; calculating a ratio of the actual duty cycle to the theoretical duty cycle; when the ratio is within a preset ratio range, keeping the fan operating at the actual duty cycle; and when the ratio exceeds the preset ratio range, controlling the fan to be turned off, and sending an alarm signal, in combination with the remaining limitations of independent claims
Claim 5: determining an energy saving duty cycle of the fan when the output power is less than or equal to the preset power threshold, wherein the energy saving duty cycle is equal to the theoretical duty cycle multiplied by an energy saving coefficient, and the energy saving coefficient is greater than 0 and less than 1; and controlling the fan to operate at the energy saving duty cycle, in combination with the remaining limitations of independent claims
Claim 7: step of “establishing a functional relationship between a vehicle speed of a vehicle and a duty cycle of the fan” comprises: presetting a first functional relationship between the vehicle speed and the vehicle noise, a second functional relationship between the fan noise and the duty cycle of the fan, and a third functional relationship between the vehicle noise and the fan noise; and establishing the functional relationship between the vehicle speed and the duty cycle of the fan based on the first functional relationship, the second functional relationship, and the third functional relationship, in combination with the remaining limitations of independent claims
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ARUN C WILLIAMS whose telephone number is (571)272-9765. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F 9 a.m. - 6 p.m..
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Julian Huffman can be reached on 571-272-2147. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/ARUN C WILLIAMS/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2859