DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
This office action is a response to an amendment/arguments filed on 4/1/2026 which was in response to the office action mailed on 1/5/2026 (hereinafter the prior office action).
Claim(s) 1-20 is/are pending.
Claim(s) 1-4, 7-9, 12-15, 17 and 19 is/are amended.
Claim(s) 1 and 14 is/are independent.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, filed on 4/1/2026, have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant states in Pg. 9-10 in “Remarks” that Fig. 25, 27, 28, Para. 306 and 321 of Kawata do not teach the newly amended limitations of claim 1 because Kawata only teaches induction heating cooker that utilizes inverter circuits to drive induction heating coils.
Examiner respectfully disagrees because Kawata discloses in Fig. 25, 27, 28, Para. 306, 321, 391, 431, 438, 581 that inverter circuitry drives coils, where control is performed based on power transmission patterns.
Information Disclosure Statement
The references cited in the information disclosure statement(s) (IDS) submitted on 4/22/2026 have been considered by the examiner.
Double Patenting
The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the claims at issue are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); and In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on a nonstatutory double patenting ground provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with this application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
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Claim(s) 1-20 is/are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-20 of U.S. Patent Application No. 17/984,321 (patented, not yet published). Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because both systems comprise substantially the same elements.
As an illustrative example, claim 1 of the present application is mapped to claim 1 of Application No. 17/984,321 in the following table:
Present Application
Application No. 17/984,321
1. (CURRENTLY AMENDED) A wireless power transmission apparatus comprising: a plurality of cooking zones;
a communication interface configured to communicate with a cooking appliance;
an output interface configured to display information regarding the cooking appliance;
a wireless power transmitter including: a plurality of working coils respectively corresponding to the plurality of cooking zones,
and an inverter circuit configured to drive the plurality of working coils;
and at least one processor configured to: in response to release of a communication connection, by the communication interface of the wireless power transmission apparatus, with the cooking appliance that has been located in a first cooking zone among the plurality of cooking zones, control the inverter circuit to drive the plurality of working coils to transmit power to drive a communication interface of the cooking appliance,
in response to a first wireless communication signal including identification information regarding the cooking appliance being received through the communication interface of the wireless power transmission apparatus within a preset time after the communication connection is released, control the inverter circuit to drive the plurality of working coils such that the plurality of working coils generate a plurality of power transmission patterns respectively corresponding to the plurality of working coils, the plurality of power transmission patterns being distinguishable from one another, and
in response to a second wireless communication signal including the identification information regarding the cooking appliance and information related to a power transmission pattern of the plurality of power transmission patterns that are distinguishable from one another beinq detected at a present location of the cooking appliance through the communication interface of the wireless power transmission apparatus, output, through the output interface, the information regarding the present location of the cooking appliance.
1. (Currently Amended) A wireless power transmission apparatus, comprising: a plurality of cooking zones;
a communication interface configured to communicate with a cooking appliance;
an output interface configured to display information regarding the cooking appliance;
a wireless power transmitter comprising a plurality of working coils corresponding to the plurality of cooking zones,
and an inverter circuit configured to drive the plurality of working coils;
and at least one processor configured to: control, upon detecting a first wireless communication signal transmitted from the cooking appliance through the communication interface, the inverter circuit to drive the plurality of working coils such that the plurality of working coils generate a plurality of power transmission patterns respectively corresponding to the plurality of working coils, the plurality of power transmission patterns being distinguishable from one another and being used to identify a current location of the cooking appliance,
receive a second wireless communication signal from the cooking appliance through the communication interface, the second wireless communication signal comprising information regarding a cooking zone, among the plurality of cooking zones, corresponding to a power transmission pattern detected at a location of the cooking appliance, among the plurality of power transmission patterns, and identification information regarding the cooking appliance;
and control the output interface to output, based on the second wireless communication signal, the information regarding the cooking zone at the location of the cooking appliance, among the plurality of cooking zones, and the identification information regarding the cooking appliance.
Claims 2-20 are similarly identical to claims 2-20 respectively. Therefore they are rejected under the same rationale.
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 of this title, 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 set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied 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.
Claim(s) 1-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kawata et al. (U.S. Pub. No. 2016/0359325) (hereinafter “Kawata”) in view of Nam et al. (U.S. Pub. No. 2020/0021114) (hereinafter “Nam”).
Regarding claim 1 and corresponding method claim 14, Kawata teaches a wireless power transmission apparatus (Fig. 25, 74 - - induction heating cooker is used, where induction is wireless power transmission)
comprising: a plurality of cooking zones; (Fig. 25 - - plurality of cooking zones)
…an output interface configured to display information regarding the cooking appliance; (Fig. 28 - - display unit is the output interface of induction heating cooker)
a wireless power transmitter (Fig. 25, 74 - - induction heating cooker is used, where induction is wireless power transmission)
including: a plurality of working coils respectively corresponding to the plurality of cooking zones, (Para. 303 - - heating coils are used in cooking zones)
and an inverter circuit configured to drive the plurality of working coils; (Para. 306, 321 - - inverter circuitry drives coils)
and at least one processor configured (Fig. 27 - - controller, i.e. processor, is configured)
to: in response to release of a communication connection, by the communication interface of the wireless power transmission apparatus, with the cooking appliance that has been located in a first cooking zone among the plurality of cooking zones, control the inverter circuit to drive the plurality of working coils to transmit power to drive a communication interface of the cooking appliance; (Fig. 25, 27, Para. 306, 321, 391, 431, 438, 581 - - inverter circuitry drives coils)
in response to a first wireless communication signal including identification information regarding the cooking appliance being received through the communication interface of the wireless power transmission apparatus within a preset time after the communication connection is released, control the inverter circuit to drive the plurality of working coils such that the plurality of working coils generate a plurality of power transmission patterns respectively corresponding to the plurality of working coils, the plurality of power transmission patterns being distinguishable from one another, (Fig. 25, 27, Para. 306, 321, 391, 431, 438, 581 - - inverter circuitry drives coils)
in response to a second wireless communication signal including the identification information regarding the cooking appliance and information related to a power transmission pattern of the plurality of power transmission patterns that are distinguishable from one another being detected at a present location of the cooking appliance through the communication interface of the wireless power transmission apparatus, output, through the output interface, the information regarding the present location of the cooking appliance. (Fig. 28, Para. 306, 321, 391, 431, 438, 581 - - display unit is the output interface of induction heating cooker)
But Kawata does not explicitly teach, however, Nam teaches a communication interface configured to communicate with a cooking appliance; (Para. 42 - - cooker communicates with cooking appliance)
Kawata and Nam are analogous art because they are from the same field of endeavor and contain overlapping structural and/or functional similarities. They both contain control of induction heating apparatus.
Therefore, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention (AIA ), it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify the above limitation(s) as taught by Kawata, by incorporating the above limitation(s) as taught by Nam.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to do this modification in order to an induction heating cooking function incorporated in a smart table, as suggested by Nam (Para. 11).
Regarding 2, Kawata teaches wherein the plurality of power transmission patterns that are distinguishable from one another are distinguishable based on at least one of a duration of a power transmission interval, a duration of a power cut-off interval, or a power level. (Para. 305 - - power level is used)
Regarding 3, Nam teaches wherein the first wireless communication signal includes information indicating that the present location of the cooking appliance is not identifiable. (Para. 60 - - RFID tag is used to identify, where absence of tag or tag being out of range means appliance’s location is not identifiable)
Regarding 4 and corresponding method claim 15, Kawata teaches to control the output interface to: with the cooking appliance is located in the first cooking zone, display the identification information regarding the cooking appliance at a first location indicating the first cooking zone on a graphical user interface (GUI) screen, and in response to the cooking appliance being moved from the first cooking zone to the present location corresponding to a second cooking zone, display the identification information regarding the cooking appliance at a second location indicating the second cooking zone on the GUI screen. (Fig. 28 - - display uses interface unit, i.e. GUI)
Regarding 5 and corresponding method claim 16, Kawata teaches to: based on the identification information regarding the cooking appliance included in the second wireless communication signal, identify whether an operation history of the cooking appliance is present within a preset time before the second wireless communication signal is received, and in response to the operation history of the cooking appliance being present, control the output interface to output information regarding a cooking progress of the cooking appliance corresponding to a time when the communication connection with the cooking appliance is released. (Fig. 25 - - plurality of coils are controlled)
Regarding 6, Kawata teaches wherein the information regarding the cooking progress of the cooking appliance includes at least one of a cooking menu, an elapsed cooking time, or a cooking stage when the communication connection with the cooking appliance is released. (Fig. 25 - - control board includes cooking information)
Regarding 7, Kawata teaches a memory configured to store the information regarding the cooking progress of the cooking appliance, (Fig. 27 - - storage device, i.e. memory, is used)
wherein the at least one processor is further configured to obtain the information regarding the cooking progress of the cooking appliance from the memory. (Fig. 27 - - processor uses memory)
Regarding 8, Kawata teaches in response to a communication reconnection with the cooking appliance after the second wireless communication signal is received, receive, through the communication interface of the wireless power transmission apparatus, the information regarding the cooking progress of the cooking appliance. (Fig. 25 - - control board includes cooking information)
Regarding 9 and corresponding method claim 17, Kawata teaches in response to a communication reconnection with the cooking appliance after the second wireless communication signal is received, receive, through the communication interface of the wireless power transmission apparatus, first power control information of the cooking appliance, the first power control information including a first power level value when the communication connection with the cooking appliance is released, and based on the first power control information, control the inverter circuit to drive the plurality of working coils transmit power corresponding to the first power level value to the cooking appliance. (Fig. 25 - - plurality of coils are controlled)
Regarding 10, Kawata teaches wherein the first power control information further includes duration information regarding the first power level value. (Fig. 25 - - plurality of coils are controlled)
Regarding 11, Kawata teaches wherein the first power level value is determined based on recipe information applied to the cooking appliance before the communication connection with the cooking appliance is released. (Fig. 25 - - plurality of coils are controlled)
Regarding 12 and corresponding method claim 18, Kawata teaches to: receive second power control information obtained by adjusting the first power level value to a second power level value based on a temperature increase rate of the cooking appliance, and based on the second power control information, control the inverter circuit to drive the plurality of working coils to transmit power corresponding to the second power level value to the cooking appliance. (Fig. 25 - - plurality of coils are controlled)
Regarding 13 and corresponding method claim 19, Kawata teaches wherein a wireless power transmission efficiency of the present location corresponding to a second cooking zone is different from a wireless power transmission efficiency of the first cooking zone. (Fig. 25 - - cooking zones 2L and 2R are controlled differently)
20, Kawata teaches computer-readable recording medium having recorded thereon a program for executing the method of claim 14 on a computer. (Fig. 27 - - storage device, i.e. computer-readable recording medium, is used)
It is noted that any citations to specific, pages, columns, lines, or figures in the prior art references and any interpretation of the reference should not be considered to be limiting in any way. A reference is relevant for all it contains and may be relied upon for all that it would have reasonably suggested to one having ordinary skill in the art. See MPEP 2123.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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 extension fee 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 Saad M. Kabir whose telephone number is 571-270-0608 (direct fax number is 571-270-9933). The examiner can normally be reached on Mondays to Fridays 9am to 5pm EST.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Mohammad Ali can be reached on 571-272-4105. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/SAAD M KABIR/
Examiner, Art Unit 2119
/MOHAMMAD ALI/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2119
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