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 .
DETAILED ACTION
This Office Action is in response to the Applicants’ communication filed on 11/19/2025. In virtue of this communication, claims 1-20 are currently pending in the instant application.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 11/19/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Please see the revised rejection in view of the amendments argued.
Claim Objections
Claim 4 is objected to because of the following informalities: Claim 4 states “…and wherein the second information is based on a ratio of power received by from the external device to power output by the external device". It is interpreted the “by” was intended to be deleted. Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee et al. (US 2023/0084679 A1) in view of Jung (US 2018/0287413 A1).
Regarding Claim 1 Lee teaches the limitations "An electronic device comprising: a wireless power reception circuit; a battery, (see par. 0003 and load 455 of fig. 4a) communication circuitry; and at least one processor operatively connected to the wireless power reception circuit and the communication circuitry, (see abstract and fig. 4a and par. 0091-0092);
wherein the at least one processor is configured to: charge the battery, based on power received via the power reception circuit from an external device; (see fig. 4a and par. 0104);
transmit, to the external device at least one of an in-band communication through the wireless power reception circuit or out band communication through the communication circuitry first information related to the power received from the external device; (see fig. 6 and par. 0279 “More specifically, the wireless power receiver selects a desired control point, a desired output current/voltage, a temperature at a specific location of the mobile device, and so on, and additionally determines an actual control point at which the receiver is currently operating. The wireless power receiver calculates a control error value by using the desired control point and the actual control point, and, then, the wireless power receiver may transmit the calculated control error value to the wireless power transmitter as a control error packet.” Here, first information can be equated to the control packet informing of power point requirements of the receiver. Also see fig. 17 showing communication between in and out band from external power transmitter and receiver, respectfully);
receive, from the external device via the out-band communication circuitry, second information related to efficiency of charging the battery calculated based on a power output from the external deice and the first information; (see par. 0405 “If it is determined that the misalignment of the wireless power receiver 200 has occurred by the above method, the wireless power transmitter 100 stops power transfer, it is connected to the wireless power receiver 200 through out-band communication and can notify the user of the fact that an error such as misalignment occurs.” Also see fig. 4d and par. 0442 “Specifically, the wireless power transmitter 100 communicates with the wireless power receiver through out-band communication, and may receive charging state information such as received power and charging rate from the wireless power receiver 200 during power transfer.”); (further see fig. 20 and par. 0395 “it is configured to exchange various information related to charging through out-band communication. As described above, out-band communication has a wider communication range than in-band communication. Even in a state where in-band communication is impossible, the wireless power receiver 200 and the transmitter 100 can communicate through out-band communication. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, even in a state where misalignment of the wireless power receiver occurs as shown in FIG. 20, it is possible to check the charging state or information about the charging state change from the wireless power transmitter through out-band communication” and par. 0422 “accordingly, even in a state in which in-band communication is impossible due to the occurrence of an error, information including the occurrence of misalignment may be transmitted to the separate device S900. At this time, in order to promptly notify the user of the occurrence of an error, the operation of transmitting the information through the out-band communication may be performed within 500 ms from the time of determining the occurrence of misalignment or the time of controlling the termination of power transfer, more specifically, it may proceed within 200 ms.”). Here there is out-band communication from the external power transmitter to the power receiver related to charging efficiency.
However, Lee does not explicitly disclose the limitation “based on the efficiency of charging the battery, determine whether a wireless power transmitting circuit of the external device and the wireless power reception circuit are aligned, and based on determining that the wireless power transmitting circuit of the external deice and the wireless power reception circuit are not aligned provide, based on the second information, a location change notification for the electronic device to guide a user to align the wireless power transmitting circuit of the external device and the wireless power reception circuit.”
In the same field of endeavor Jung discloses a wireless charging device alignment guiding method and system, where based on charging efficiency the user device is displayed a guide to align the coils (see abstract, fig. 8-9 and par. 0170-0172) Jung also teaches bi-directional out band communication (see e.g. 0101).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide a user guide for aligning power coils for transmitter efficiency as taught by Jung in the system of Lee, in order to effectively guide the position of a wireless charging device to where charging efficiency is optimal (see abstract of Jung).
Claim 11 is rejected for the same reasons set forth above because the claims have similar limitations or have been addressed.
Regarding Claim 2 Lee teaches the limitations "The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:
produce, based on the power received from the external device, the first information, and wherein the first information comprises control data corresponding to at least one of a received power packet (RPP) or a control error packet (CEP)" (see par. 0279 “The wireless power receiver calculates a control error value by using the desired control point and the actual control point, and, then, the wireless power receiver may transmit the calculated control error value to the wireless power transmitter as a control error packet.”).
Claim 12 is rejected for the same reasons set forth above because the claims have similar limitations or have been addressed.
Regarding Claim 3 Lee teaches the limitations "The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:
activate, based on a state of the communication circuitry, the communication circuitry when initiating the wireless charging or transmitting the first information; (inherent that communication device is on in order to transmit) and establish, via the communication circuitry, a communication channel for the out-band communication with the external device" (see par. 0100 “The OB communication module may also perform out-of-band communication through a communication antenna.”).
Claim 13 is rejected for the same reasons set forth above because the claims have similar limitations or have been addressed.
Regarding Claim 4 Lee teaches the limitations "The electronic device of claim 1, the second information is determined by the external device, (see fig. 4d and par. 0442 “Specifically, the wireless power transmitter 100 communicates with the wireless power receiver through out-band communication, and may receive charging state information such as received power and charging rate from the wireless power receiver 200 during power transfer.” And par. 0269 “Alternatively, the wireless power transmitter may receive a status packet that includes a reference quality factor value and a reference peak frequency value. At this point, the wireless power transmitter may determine a quality coefficient threshold value for FO detection based on the reference quality factor value” and par. 0469 “ it can be expected that the power transfer efficiency is in a degraded state. Therefore, even in this case, the wireless power transmitter transmits the information to the wireless charging receiver or a separate device through out-band communication to notify the user, it may induce the user to check the charging status again.”);
and wherein the second information is based on a ratio of power received by from the external device to power output by the external device" (see par. 0103 “The operating point that is being controlled may correspond to a combination of a frequency (or phase), a duty cycle, a duty ratio, and a voltage amplitude. The communications & control unit (120) may control the transmitted power by adjusting any one of the frequency (or phase), the duty cycle, the duty ratio, and the voltage amplitude.” And par. 0454 “If the difference value in the above-described step S252 does not exceed the quality factor threshold, it is determined whether a foreign object is detected based on the power transfer ratio (S253).”).
Claim 14 is rejected for the same reasons set forth above because the claims have similar limitations or have been addressed.
Regarding Claim 5 Lee teaches the limitations "The electronic device of claim 4, wherein the power received by the electronic device is identified based on the first information" (see fig. 21 (S110) and par. 0276 “And, the receiver status information may include information on the required power, and so on.”).
Claim 15 is rejected for the same reasons set forth above because the claims have similar limitations or have been addressed.
Regarding Claim 6 Lee teaches the limitations "The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:
compare the efficiency of charging the battery and reference efficiency set for the electronic device;
and based on a difference between the efficiency of charging the battery and the reference efficiency, determine whether the wireless power transmitting circuit of the external device and the wireless power reception circuit are aligned" (see fig. 21 and par. 0419 “it is shown that the misalignment is first determined based on the quality factor among the two parameters, it is not limited to this order, and it is also possible to first determine whether there is a misalignment based on the peak frequency. In addition, in FIG. 21, when the difference between the measured value and the reference value in any one of the two parameters exceeds the threshold, it is determined that there is a misalignment, but is not limited thereto. When the difference between the measured value and the reference value of both parameters exceeds the threshold, it is also possible to determine that it is misaligned.” And par. 0431 “it is determined whether a foreign object is detected using system parameters (e.g., changes in power, current, transmission efficiency, resistance, inductance, and capacitor) initially set before foreign object detection.”).
Claim 16 is rejected for the same reasons set forth above because the claims have similar limitations or have been addressed.
Regarding Claim 7 Lee teaches the limitations "The electronic device of claim 6, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: based on determining that the wireless power transmitting circuit of the external device and the wireless power reception circuit are aligned, provide a first guide related to wireless charging" (see par. 0458-0459).
Claim 17 is rejected for the same reasons set forth above because the claims have similar limitations or have been addressed.
Regarding Claim 8 Lee teaches the limitations "The electronic device of claim 6, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: based on determining that the wireless power transmitting circuit of the external device and the wireless power reception circuit are not aligned , provide a notification for a degree of misalignment corresponding to a degree of the difference between the first charging efficiency and the second charging efficiency" (see par. 0396-0387 and 0413, where the distance (i.e. degree of misalignment) is used to notify user (i.e. the degree notifying is too far or misaligned or normal operation) and par. 0423 “the device 900 that receives this information displays the received information to the user through the display unit 930 of the device to notify the fact that the misalignment has occurred (S172). Here, the method of displaying to the user may be delivered using at least one of various methods such as voice notification, vibration notification, LED blinking, and message display.” Lastly par. 0470 states how the user is notifying to change location based on a degree of misalignment where an error did not occur “it is possible for the user to improve the charging environment by recognizing that the charging efficiency is low and adjusting the location of the wireless power receiver. FIG. 26 is a diagram illustrating an example of displaying information generated in each wireless power transfer system to a user during power transfer according to an embodiment”).
Claim 18 is rejected for the same reasons set forth above because the claims have similar limitations or have been addressed.
Regarding Claim 9 Lee teaches the limitations "The electronic device of claim 6, wherein the at least one processor is configured to:
determine, based on the difference between the reference efficiency and the efficiency of charging the battery, whether the efficiency of charging the battery is within a predetermined range;
based on determining that the efficiency of charging the battery is within the predetermined range, determine that the wireless power transmitting circuit of the external device and the wireless power reception circuit are aligned and provide a notification related to wireless charging via an output module of the electronic device;
and based on determining that the first charging efficiency is outside of the predetermined range, determine that misalignment occurs and provide the location change notification via the output module" (see par. 0396-0397 “…the wireless power receiver 200 and the wireless power transmitter 100 may check distance information between the wireless power receiver and the wireless power transmitter using out-band communication between the two devices. For example, using a Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) during out-band communication between two devices, it is possible to check whether the wireless power receiver moves and distance information based on the RSSI change of out-band communication. Meanwhile, whether the wireless power receiver 200 is misaligned may be determined by the wireless power transmitter 100. The wireless power receiver 200 may determine whether there is a misalignment by comparing the measured parameter for determining whether there is a misalignment with a reference parameter.”).
Claim 19 is rejected for the same reasons set forth above because the claims have similar limitations or have been addressed.
Regarding Claim 10 Lee teaches the limitations "The electronic device of claim 2, wherein the in-band communication comprises communication via a wireless power signal between a coil of the electronic device and a coil of the external device, and wherein the out-band communication comprises a short-range wireless communication different from the in-band communication " (see par. 0099-0100, modulation of operating frequency via coils on in band or Bt, NFC etc.).
Claim 20 is rejected for the same reasons set forth above because the claims have similar limitations or have been addressed.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, 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 DAVID BILODEAU whose telephone number is (571)270-3192. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday 6:00am-4:00pm Eastern Standard Time.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, Applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Wesley Kim can be reached at (571) 272-7867. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/David Bilodeau/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2648