DETAILED ACTION
This is a first action on the merits, in response to the claims received 12/21/2022. Claims 1-20 are pending for prosecution below.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS)(s) file have been considered by the examiner. An initialed copy is attached herewith.
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.
Claim(s) 1-3,6-10,13-16,18-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by SABO, (USNO.2012/0146426).
As for claim 1, Sabo discloses and shows in Fig. 7 a tool ( ref’s appliance/ power tool) having a tool housing, a motor disposed in the tool housing, and a rechargeable battery pack, the tool comprising: first and second receivers (ref’s primary and secondary coil) disposed in the tool housing and adapted to wirelessly receive energy to supply power to at least one of the motor and the rechargeable battery pack (par.[0024,0032-0034,0046,0055]).
As for claim 2, Sabo discloses and shows the first and second receivers are disposed in different planes
As for claim 3, Sabo discloses and shows the first and second receivers are coils of wire.
As for claim 6, Sabo discloses and shows an AC/DC converter electrically coupled to an output of each of the first and second receivers
As for claim 7, Sabo discloses and shows AC/DC converter converts the energy into an electrical current to supply the power to the at least one of the motor and the rechargeable battery pack
As for claim 8, Sabo discloses and shows in Figs. 7 and 14 an adapter for a power operated tool, the adapter comprising: an adapter housing including a tool attachment portion adapted to couple to the tool, and a battery attachment portion adapted to couple to a rechargeable battery pack; and a receiver disposed in the adapter housing and adapted to wirelessly received energy to supply power to at least one of the tool and the rechargeable battery pack (par.[0024,0032-0034,0046,0055]).
As for claim 9, Sabo discloses and shows receiver includes first and second receivers that are disposed in different planes
As for claim 10, Sabo discloses and shows the receiver is a coil of wire
As for claim 13, Sabo discloses and shows an AC/DC converter electrically coupled to an output of the receiver.
As for claim 14, Sabo discloses and shows the AC/DC converter converts the energy into an electrical current to supply the power to the at least one of the tool and the rechargeable battery pack
As for claim 15, Sabo discloses and shows in Figs. 7 and 14 a transmitting structure for wirelessly providing energy to a receiver, the transmitting structure comprising: at least one sidewall; and transmitters disposed in the at least one sidewall, wherein the transmitters are respectively oriented in different planes and are adapted to produce a multidimensional magnetic or electromagnetic field radiating outwardly away from the at least one sidewall (par.[0024,0032-0034,0046,0055]).
As for claim 16, Sabo discloses and shows at least one sidewall includes first and second sidewalls that are oriented substantially perpendicularly with respect to each other
As for claim 18, Sabo discloses and shows in Figs. 7 A system for wirelessly providing power, the system comprising: a transmitting structure including transmitters adapted to produce a multidimensional magnetic or electromagnetic field at a frequency; and a receiving structure including receivers and a voltage converter, wherein the receivers are adapted to receive energy from the multidimensional magnetic or electromagnetic field, and the voltage converter is adapted to convert the energy to a voltage to be applied to at least one of a power tool and a rechargeable battery pack.
As for claim 19, Sabo discloses and shows transmitting structure includes a sidewall, and the transmitters are disposed in the sidewall
As for claim 20, Sabo discloses and shows receiving structure is disposed in a power tool
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) 4,5,11-12,21-22 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over SABO in view of Melone et al, (Melone), (USNO.2022/0255361).
As for claim 4, SABO discloses all limitations, but differs from the claimed invention because he does not explicitly disclose first and second receivers are antennae
Melone discloses first and second receivers are antennae (par.[0005,0015-0015,0082, 0127])
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 SABO by using first and second receivers are antennae for advantages such as providing to optimizing power transfer (par.[0004]) , as taught by Melone.
As for claim 5, Sabo in combination with Melone discloses and shows first and second receivers are antennae and coils of wire
As for claim 11, Sabo in combination with Melone discloses and shows the receiver is an antenna.
As for claim 12, Sabo in combination with Melone discloses and shows the receiver is an antenna and a coil of wire.
As for claim 21, Sabo in combination with Melone discloses and shows the frequency is in a range of about 6.87 MHz to about 13.56 MHz (par.[0015-0018]).
As for claim 22, Sabo in combination with Melone discloses and shows a sensor that is adapted to sense the multidimensional magnetic or electromagnetic field in the frequency range of about 6.87 MHz to about 13.56 MHz to cause the receivers to receive the multidimensional magnetic or electromagnetic field (par.[0015-0018]).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 17 is 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 transmitters includes at least three transmitters disposed in the first sidewall and at least one transmitter disposed in the second sidewall., 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