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 § 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)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-3, 5, 6, 12, 13 and 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Wu (US 2024/0088722 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Wu teaches: An electronic device (Figs. 3-9 and 11) comprising: a housing comprising a first portion (101) and a second portion (102), the second portion configured to change in a position relative to the first portion based on a state of the electronic device (as shown in Figs. 5, 7 and 8 and described in para. 0072-0074, the second portion 102 can be folded relative to the first portion 101); a wireless charging circuit (103); and at least one processor (1110) electrically connected to the wireless charging circuit (see para. 0125-0131), wherein the at least one processor is configured to: control the wireless charging circuit (103) to receive first power from a power supply device (900) through a first magnetic field having a first center (the center 1031), and control the wireless charging circuit to receive the first power from the power supply device through a second magnetic field having a second center (the center of 1032 & 1033) different from the first center, based on a positional relationship between the first portion and the second portion of the housing (the folding angle between 101 and 102), based on relative positions of the power supply device and the first portion of the housing being fixed (see Figs. 6 and para. 0075-0104 and 0125-0131, also, as shown in Figs. 7 & 8, 101 is fixed as a lower surface and 102 is folded relative to 101).
Regarding claim 2, Wu teaches: The electronic device of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of wireless charging coils (1031, 1032, 1033) disposed inside the housing, wherein the first magnetic field having the first center is formed by a first wireless charging coil (1031) among the plurality of wireless charging coils, and wherein the second magnetic field having the second center is formed by a second wireless charging coil (1032 and 1033) among the plurality of wireless charging coils (see Figs. 3, 4 and para. 0072-0074).
Regarding claim 3, Wu teaches: The electronic device of claim 2, further comprising a memory (1109, Fig. 11), wherein the at least one processor (1110) is configured to: determine a wireless charging coil (1031 or 1032 & 1033) configured to receive power from the power supply device (900) from among the plurality of wireless charging coils corresponding to an angle formed between the first portion (101) and the second portion (102) of the housing (see para. 0129-0137), and store information about the determined wireless charging coil in the memory (the actions of identifying a candidate coil and prompting a user, as described in para. 0129-0137, would necessarily require storing information about the determined coil in the memory).
Regarding claim 5, Wu teaches: The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the housing further comprises a hinge (since the housing is foldable, some type of hinge is necessarily present between 101 and 102) connecting the first portion (101) and the second portion (102), and wherein the second portion of the housing is rotatable about a first axis (the fold line shown in the Figs.) relative to the first portion (see Figs. 4, 5, 7 and 8) (it is noted that no particular hinge structure is required by the claim).
Regarding claim 6, Wu teaches: The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the positional relationship between the first portion (101) and the second portion (102) of the housing comprises an angle formed between the first portion and the second portion (see Figs. 4-8 and para. 0079-0080).
Regarding claim 12, Wu teaches: A method of operating an electronic device (Figs. 3-9 and 11) comprising a housing comprising a first portion (101) and a second portion (102) connected to the first portion, the method comprising: controlling (see Figs. 6 and para. 0075-0104 and 0125-0131) a wireless charging circuit (103) of the electronic device to receive first power from a power supply device (900), based on a first magnetic field having a first center (the center of 1031); and controlling the wireless charging circuit (103) to receive the first power from the power supply device (900), based on a second magnetic field having a second center (the center of 1032 & 1033) different from the first center and based on a positional relationship between the first portion (101) and the second portion (102) of the housing (the folding angle between 101 and 102), based on relative positions of the power supply device and the first portion of the housing being fixed (see Figs. 6 and para. 0075-0104 and 0125-0131, also, as shown in Figs. 7 & 8, 101 is fixed as a lower surface and 102 is folded relative to 101).
Regarding claim 13, Wu teaches: The method of operating an electronic device of claim 12, wherein the first magnetic field having the first center is formed by a first wireless charging coil (1031) among a plurality of wireless charging coils of the electronic device, and wherein the second magnetic field having the second center is formed by a second wireless charging coil (1032 & 1033) among the plurality of wireless charging coils (see Figs. 3, 4 and para. 0072-0074).
Regarding claim 18, Wu teaches: The method of operating an electronic device of claim 12, wherein the positional relationship between the first portion (101) and the second portion (102) of the housing comprises an angle formed between the first portion and the second portion (see Figs. 4-8 and para. 0079-0080).
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) 10, 11, 19 and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wu (US 2024/0088722 A1) in view of Choi et al (US 9,476,704 B2).
Regarding claims 10 and 19: The teachings of Wu, as applied to claims 1 and 12, have been discussed above.
Regarding claim 10, Wu also teaches: The electronic device of claim 1, further comprising at least one sensor (1105, Fig. 11), wherein the at least one processor is configured to identify an angle formed between the first portion (101) and the second portion (102) of the housing (see Figs. 6 and para. 0075-0104 and 0125-0131); and Regarding claim 19, Wu also teaches: The method of operating an electronic device of claim 12, further comprising identifying an angle formed between the first portion (101) and the second portion (102) of the housing (see Figs. 6 and para. 0075-0104 and 0125-0131).
Wu does not specifically teach identifying the angle using the at least one sensor.
Choi et al teaches a flexible display (100) that uses at least one sensor (sensor unit 110-1, including sensors 111-1 & 113-1) to identify an angle between first (A1) and second (A2) portions of the display (100) (see Figs. 1-3 and col. 3, lines 14-53).
In view of Choi et al’s teachings, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date to include with the device and method of Wu, identifying the angle using the at least one sensor, in order to improve accuracy of the angle measurement (see col. 2, lines 31-41, of Choi et al).
Regarding claims 11 and 20, the teachings of Wu as modified by Choi et al, as applied to claims 10 and 19, have been discussed above.
Regarding claim 11, Wu as modified by Choi et al also teaches: The electronic device of claim 10, further comprising (see Fig. 11) a wireless communication circuit (network module 1102) electrically connected to the at least one processor (1110), and the power supply (900) including an obtaining module (901) to obtain the identified angle formed between the first portion (101) and the second portion (102).
Wu as modified by Choi et al does not specifically teach: (regarding claim 11)
wherein the at least one processor is configured to transmit information on the identified angle formed between the first portion and the second portion to the power supply device using the wireless communication circuit, and (regarding claim 20) further comprising transmitting information about the identified angle formed between the first portion and the second portion to the power supply device.
However, communication between a power supply and a wireless charging receiver was old and well known to those of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date. Many known wireless power transmission protocols include in-band or out-of-band (or both) communication between the power transmitter and the power receiver, for the purpose of identification, selecting power levels, and efficient transmission of power.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date to include with the system and method of Wu as modified by Choi et al, (regarding claim 11) wherein the at least one processor is configured to transmit information on the identified angle formed between the first portion and the second portion to the power supply device using the wireless communication circuit, and (regarding claim 20) further comprising transmitting information about the identified angle formed between the first portion and the second portion to the power supply device, since this would provide a convenient way to provide the angle that was determined by the processor to the obtaining module of the power supply.
Claim(s) 7 and 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wu (US 2024/0088722 A1) in view of Rautiainen et al. (US 2014/0253024 A1).
Regarding claims 7 and 15, the teachings of Wu, as applied to claims 1 and 12, have been discussed above. Wu also teaches the at least one processor (1110) is configured to: determine whether the first power is greater than a threshold power for charging the electronic device (see Fig. 6 and para. 0075-0104 and 0125-0131).
Wu does not specifically teach based on the first power being less than the threshold power, request the power supply device to transmit second power greater than the threshold power.
Rautiainen et al teaches the amount of power transferred in a wireless power transmission system can be controlled by sending feedback communication between the receiver and charger to increase or decrease power (see para. 0023).
In view of Rautiainen et al’s teachings, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date to include, with the device and method as taught by Wu, based on the first power being less than the threshold power, request the power supply device to transmit second power greater than the threshold power, since this would allow the amount of power being transmitted and received to be effectively controlled.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4, 8, 9, 14, 16 and 17 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:
Regarding claims 4 and 14, the prior art of record does not teach wherein the second magnetic field having the second center is formed by the first wireless charging coil and the lumped element as the at least one processor is configured to control the switch circuit to electrically connect the lumped element and the first wireless charging coil, in combination with the other limitations as recited in claims 4 and 14.
Woo (US 10,250,063 B2) teaches a controller (150) operating a switch (121, 122 or 123) to connect a wireless power receiving antenna (111, 112 or 113) to a lumped element (a capacitor and inductor in antenna matching circuit 131, 132 or 133, see Figs. 2 & 3, col. 3, line 46 – col. 4, line 30, and col. 6, lines 11-15). However, Woo does not teach the second magnetic field having the second center is formed by the first wireless charging coil and the lumped element.
Regarding claims 8 and 16, the prior art of record does not teach receiving feedback from the power supply device in response to the request and information on the position of the power supply device; and displaying, on a flexible display, a user interface requesting changing of a position of the electronic device such that the first power is greater than the threshold power, based on the received feedback and information, in combination with the other limitations as recited in claims 8 and 16.
Claims 9 and 17 depend from claims 8 and 16, respectively, and would be allowable for the same reasons.
Wu teaches displaying a prompt that instructs a user to change the position of the device on the charger in order to provide a better alignment of the charging coils (see Figs. 6-8 and para. 0095-0100). However, the prompt is based on a comparison of power levels received in each of the coils (1031 and 1032 & 1033), not based on received feedback and information from the charger.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Please see the additional references cited on the attached PTO-892, which are related to devices including multiple wireless power receiving coils.
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/JARED FUREMAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2859