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 information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 01/11/2023 are 12/11/2023 are acknowledged by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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.
Claims 7-15 and 17-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 as being anticipated by Quek et al. (US 2021/0083500), hereinafter Quek.
As to claims 7 and 17, Quek discloses in figures 1-4D, a power supply comprising [see figure below]
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a switched-mode power supply [see figure above (104)] operable to receive input power [received Vac], the switched-mode power supply including a switch [switch S1; see figure 1A] operable to selectively generate output power based on the input power [based on the input power the output sockets generate output power] , the switched mode power supply configured to selectively control the switch, based on a feedback signal [the PD Control (116) controls the switch (S1) based on the feedback signals shown in figure 1A] , to generate the output power;
a first output port [115a] operable to supply first port power to a first external device [power device108] ;
a second output port [115b] operable to supply second port power to a second external device [powered device (112)] ; and control circuitry [controller PD (116)] operable to selectively direct the output power to the first and second output ports based on the first and second port power, said control circuitry configured to generate the feedback signal based on the first and second port power [the control PD (116) receives signals from the sockets 115a and 115b (see table in figure 1A) and control the switching S1].
As to claim 8, Quek discloses in figures 1-2A, wherein the switched-mode power supply includes an inverter stage operable to receive the input power as AC power and to generate inverter DC power based on the AC power, wherein the switched-mode power supply is configured to generate the output voltage based on the inverter DC power [noted that the converter 113 provides DC power source ; see ¶0047].
As to claim 9, Quek discloses in figures 1-4D, wherein the output power corresponds to a sequence of pulses generated by selective control of the switch [see ¶0050-0051; pulse signal or waveform is used to control the output power].
As to claims 10 and 18, Quek discloses in figures 1-4D, wherein the control circuitry selectively directs one or more first pulses of the sequence of pulses to the first output port to generate the first port power, and wherein the control circuitry selectively directs one or more second pulses of the sequence of pulses to the second output port to generate the second port power [pulses are used to turn on and off, see ¶0003 and 0051].
As to claims 11 and 20, Quek discloses in figures 1-4D, wherein the control circuitry, in a first mode, selectively directs the output power to the first output port, and wherein, in the first mode, the feedback signal corresponds to the first port power associated with the first output port [¶003 and ¶0051].
As to claims 12 and 19, Quek discloses in figures 1-4D, wherein the control circuitry, in a second mode, selectively directs the output power to the second output port, and wherein, in the second mode, the feedback signal corresponds to the second port power associated with the second output port [¶0031 and ¶0032].
As to claim 13, Quek discloses in figures 1-4D, wherein the control circuitry, in the first mode, selectively directs one or more first pulses of the sequence of pulses to the first output port, and wherein the control circuitry, in the second mode, selectively directs one or more second pulses of the sequence of pulses to the second output port [¶0031].
As to claim 14, Quek discloses in figures 1-4D, wherein the control circuitry is configured to repeatedly transition between the first and second modes based on a first power demand of the first external device and a second power demand of the second external device [see ¶0024-0025].
As to claim 15, Quek discloses in figures 1-4D, wherein a sum of the first and second power demands is less than a maximum power output for the switched-mode power supply [see ¶0024-0025].
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.
Claim 16 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Quek in view of Choi et al. (US 2015/0381067), hereinafter Choi.
As to claim 16, Quek discloses all of the claim limitations except, wherein the control circuitry is operable to conduct time- division multiplexing with respect to the sequence of pulses by repeatedly transitioning between the first and second modes.
Choi discloses in figure 1, wherein the control circuitry [the switching circuitry 30] is operable to conduct time- division multiplexing with respect to the sequence of pulses by repeatedly transitioning between the first and second modes [see Abstract, ¶0010-011, ¶0014, ¶0027-0030].
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to use time division controller in Quek’s system as taught by Choi in order to control the multiple output independently control more easily and precisely.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-6 are allowed.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance:
Claim 1 recites, inter alia, wherein the time-division multiplexing circuitry includes: port-monitoring circuitry configured to monitor variations in power needs of corresponding ports, and a multiplexer module configured to: receive the sequence, dispatch different integer numbers of pulses, as the sequence is being received, to corresponding ports in proportion to the respective power levels, switch the dispatching of pulses from one port to another based on the monitored variations in the power needs of the corresponding ports, and cause the switching to occur between the last pulse of each dispatch and the first pulse of the subsequent dispatch, wherein the switched-mode power supply is configured to: receive notification from the time-division multiplexing circuitry relating to an instant port to which pulses are being dispatched, and modify production of the pulses of the sequence in compliance with the DC voltage specification for the instant port. The above limitation is not disclosed, taught, or suggested in the art of record, nor would it have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the art of record to meet the above limitation.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SAMUEL BERHANU whose telephone number is (571)272-8430. The examiner can normally be reached M_F.
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/SAMUEL BERHANU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2859