DETAILED ACTION
Examiner acknowledges receipt of amendment to application 18/123,225 filed on April 9, 2026. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Status of Claims
Claims 1, 3-11 and 13-19 are still pending, with claims 1 and 3-10 being currently amended. Claims 2 and 12 are cancelled.
Status of Objections and Non-Prior Art Rejections
I. 35 USC § 112(f) Interpretations
Applicant’s amendments to claims 1, and 3-10 are sufficient such that claims 1 and 3-10 are no longer interpreted under 112(f).
Response to Arguments
On pages 8-9 of the remarks filed April 9, 2026, Applicant argues:
Kizilyalli fails to teach the technical feature "the microcontroller is configured to provide, through the communication circuit, a plurality of preset options to an external device, so as to designate a preset power for each of the plurality of power output ports as the plurality of power parameters in the setting instruction".
Please refer to paragraphs [0129] and [0131] of Kizilyalli which states:
[0129]: "It should be noted that an association can be made between devices and output
ports by the power adapter. Although output port 914A is typically associated with a laptop computer and output ports 914B and 914C are associated with a tablet and a
smartphone, respectively, this is not required by the present invention."
[0131]: "In some embodiments, the power adapter will attempt to charge all connected
devices. If the total amount of power needed to charge all the devices exceeds the power rating of the power adapter, which can be indicated by an increase in operating temperature, current exceeding a current limit at a predetermined voltage, output power exceeding the power adapter's power limit, or the like, the power adapter will start reducing the amount of power available for charging by throttling back the charging
process of the lowest priority device."
Kizilyalli, only describes an application scheme that, for example, the power adapter associates devices with output ports and reduces power to the lowest priority device when the total power exceeds the power rating. That is, Kizilyalli does not teach any idea of designating charging powers of each of the plurality of power output ports, and adjusting the output power of each charging power output port accordingly.
In comparison, claim 1 provides an application scheme that user can use his/her mobile phone to receive multiple preset options respectively corresponding to each of the power output ports, so as to designate the output power of each power output ports. For example, user can utilize the present invention to arbitrarily designating charging powers of each of the plurality of power output ports to achieve multiple possible charging power combinations. Therefore, the technical feature of claim 1 of the present application practically provides user more degree of freedom in distributing charging powers.
Examiner respectfully disagrees. Examiner notes that Kizilyalli discloses that the communication module allows a user to select via an external user interface preset options (manufacture and model of laptop) which are associated with preset power settings (par. 122, table 1, voltage of 19.5 V, 4.0 A). This, means Kizilyalli provides “a plurality of preset options to an external device” (the menu interface allowing for the selection of a manufacturer and model)”. The limitation “so as to designate a preset power for each of the plurality of power output ports as the plurality of power parameters in the setting instruction” is interpreted as an intended result (see MPEP 2111.04) rather than a distinct step of the method. However, even if the “so as to” clause was interpreted as a distinct step, the system of Kizilyalli allows for the selection of manufacturer and model for all the connected devices, thus the microcontroller allows for the designation of a preset power for each of the power output ports.
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 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 1, 3-11 and 13-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kizilyalli et al. US PGPUB 2016/0241148.
Regarding claim 1, Kizilyalli discloses a distributive fast charging device [figs. 1A & 3a-3g; power supply 100; the charger is capable of rapid charging device (par. 7)], comprising: a power input port;
a plurality of power output ports [fig. 1a & 3a-3g; a plurality of output ports 114a-114c; pars. 39-40; see also fig. 9];
a communication module configured to receive a setting instruction [figs. 8 & 10-14; a user can control the power output device via user interface, including via Bluetooth (par. 118); pars. 101-102, 108, 119];
a power conversion module connected to the power input port and the plurality of power output ports [pars. 45-46; 111-113; a power module provides various DC voltages to the output ports from an input AC source, thus a power conversion module (fig. 3F, 380], and configured to be controlled to convert initial power received by the power input port into converted power according to a plurality of conversion ratios and transfer the converted power to the plurality of power output ports, respectively [pars. 45-46, 55-56, 58, 60-61, 111-113; according to control from the microcontroller the power is converted from a standard AC level (from the AC mains, par. 56) to the appropriate DC voltage level, thus based on different ratios]; and
a microcontroller connected to the communication module and the power conversion module, and configured to adjust the plurality of conversion ratios according to the setting instruction [pars. 54-55 & 62-63; a microcontroller 370 which instructs the output voltage (and thus the ratio)],
wherein the setting instruction comprises a plurality of power parameters of the plurality of power output ports [pars. 54-55 & 62-63; voltages], and the microcontroller calculates the plurality of conversion ratios according to the plurality of power parameters and the initial power [pars. 53-55 & 62-63; the controller calculates the instructions which may include PWM (ratio) to output the correct voltage based on the input voltage (AC or rectified AC); fig. 5],
wherein the microcontroller is further configured to provide, through the communication circuit, a plurality of preset options to an external device, so as to designate a preset power for each of the plurality of power output ports as the plurality of power parameters in the setting instruction [fig. 10 & 12A; par. 118-122 (table 1), 128-129 & 131; via the communication device a menu is provided which allows a user to select a manufacturer and model of their device (laptop), the selection menu is a “plurality of preset options”, based on the selected option a default (preset) power amount (voltage and current) is set (par. 122); Examiner notes that the “so as to” clause is being interpreted as an “intended result” (MPEP 2111.40), but even if it were given patentable weight, devices with model/manufacturer can be selected for each of the ports, which is designating a preset power based on the selection].
Regarding claim 3, Kizilyalli discloses further comprising: a temperature sensor connected to the microcontroller, and configured to sense a temperature of the distributive fast charging device to generate a sensing result [par. 47; 156 & 158; temperature of the power adapter can be monitored];
wherein the microcontroller is further configured to send a state instruction through the communication circuit with the sensing result [par. 158; over-temperature protection can be indicated by the controller and sent to the user display, thus a state instruction with sensing result].
Regarding claim 4, Kizilyalli discloses further comprising: a temperature sensor connected to the microcontroller, and configured to sense a temperature of the distributive fast charging device to generate a sensing result [par. 47; 156 & 158; temperature of the power adapter can be monitored]; and
an indication circuit connected to the microcontroller, and is configured to receive an indication instruction from the microcontroller to indicate a state, wherein the indication instruction is generated by the microcontroller according to the sensing result [par. 158; temperature indication or over-temperature protection can be indicated by the controller and sent to the user display, thus indication according sensing result]. .
Regarding claim 5, Kizilyalli discloses further comprising:
a power sensor connected to the microcontroller, and configured to sense a plurality of power parameters of the plurality of power output ports to generate a sensing result; wherein the microcontroller is further configured to send a parameter instruction through the communication circuit with the sensing result [fig. 15; voltage and power can be detected by the power adapter controller and output through comms to a display screen (parameter instruction, i.e. “display this value”); par. 146 & 156-157].
Regarding claim 6, Kizilyalli discloses further comprising: a power sensor connected to the microcontroller, and configured to sense a plurality of power parameters of the plurality of power output ports to generate a sensing result; and an indication circuit connected to the microcontroller, and configured receive an indication instruction to indicate a state, wherein the indication instruction is generated by the microcontroller according to the sensing result [fig. 15; voltage and power can be detected by the power adapter controller and output through comms to a display screen (parameter instruction, i.e. “display this value”); par. 146 & 156].
Regarding claim 7, Kizilyalli discloses further comprising: an indication circuit connected to the microcontroller, the indication module comprising light emitting diodes [par. 111 & 117, LEDs on the power adapter];
wherein the setting instruction comprises light emission parameters, and the microcontroller instructs a light emission state of the light diodes of the indication circuit according to the setting instruction [pars. 111 & 117; the LEDs can be instructed and controlled to provide status of the power adapter].
Regarding claim 8, Kizilyalli discloses further comprising a signal transfer port connected to the microcontroller, and configured to receive another setting instruction from the external device [figs. 8 & 10-14; a user can control the power output device via user interface, including via Bluetooth (par. 118); pars. 101-102, 108, 119], the another setting instruction comprising a plurality of second power parameters or a plurality of second order parameters of the plurality of power output ports, with the microcontroller further configured to calculate the plurality of conversion ratios according to the plurality of second power parameters and the initial power or calculate the plurality of conversion ratios according to the plurality of second order parameters and the initial power [pars. 53-55 & 62-63; the controller calculates the instructions which may include PWM (ratio) to output the correct voltage based on the input voltage (AC or rectified AC); fig. 5; setting instructions from the GUI (figs. 10-18) can instruct the controller to adjust the output for various ports, i.e. increasing power for a high priority device and decreasing for a low priority device, pars. 76 & 130-136; thus second power parameters, and conversions ratios calculated based off the second power parameters].
Regarding claim 9, Kizilyalli discloses wherein the communication circuit or a signal transfer port is further configured to receive an update setting, and transfer the update setting to the microcontroller, and the microcontroller is further configured to update a firmware according to the update setting [par. 106 & 120; software updates can be downloaded to a mobile device and then transmitted over comms to the power adapter].
Regarding claim 10, Kizilyalli discloses wherein the communication circuit or the signal transfer port is further configured to receive an update setting, and transfer the update setting to the microcontroller, and the microcontroller is further configured to update a firmware according to the update setting [par. 106 & 120; software updates can be downloaded to a mobile device and then transmitted over comms to the power adapter].
Regarding claims 11 and 13-19, Kizilyalli discloses A charging system, comprising: the distributive fast charging device according to claim 1; and
a mobile device connected to the distributive fast charging device, wherein an application is installed in the mobile device, and the application is configured to generate the setting instruction [figs. 10-18; a GUI provided on a mobile device allows a user to control the power adapter including settings; pars. 91, 96, 102-103 & 118-120].
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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 nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) 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 DAVID V HENZE whose telephone number is (571)272-3317. The examiner can normally be reached M to F, 9am to 7pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Julian Huffman can be reached at 571-272-2147. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/DAVID V HENZE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2859
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