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
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 02/20/2026 has been entered. In virtue of this communication, claims 16-18, 20-21, and 23-37 are currently pending in the instant application.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to the claims have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument. Please see the revised rejections below.
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 16-18, 20-21, 24-25, 27-32, 33-34 and 36-37 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wippler (US 2021/0273476 A1) in view of Oster et al. (US 2020/0161903 A1) and further in view of King, II (US 2013/0059538 A1).
Regarding Claim 16 Wippler teaches the limitations "A system comprising: (fig. 1, 100, fig. 3)
a base unit being operable in combination with a module; (tray 102 with mobile 104, 301 and 312)
a power transmitter for delivering power to the module; (fig. 3 (304));
a base wireless data transceiver for wireless communication between the base unit and the module; and (see par. 0046 “This may involve an exchange of data between the mobile device and the wireless charger using a short-range data communications protocol. The wireless charger may also receive charging data from the mobile device including a charging frequency and a charge level of the mobile device. The wireless charger may use the charging data from the mobile device when charging the mobile device”);
the module locator “comprising a receptacle for receiving and securing the module” (the tray in Wippler can be equated to receptacle as show in in fig. 2a, 2b and par. 0046. Further Wippler shows “When the charging receiving apparatus of the mobile device 104 is aligned with the wireless charger 206, the mobile device 104 may be charged.”). Charger aligns with mobile phone on tray) and to align a module wireless data transceiver on the module with the base wireless data transceiver for wireless communication therebetween" (see par. 0046, tray where inductive charging occurs when the phone is aligned on the tray and within short range of communication (i.e. aligned for communication). “The wireless charger may perform steps to determine whether the mobile device is capable of being charged wirelessly. This may involve an exchange of data between the mobile device and the wireless charger using a short-range data communications protocol. The wireless charger may also receive charging data from the mobile device including a charging frequency and a charge level of the mobile device. The wireless charger may use the charging data from the mobile device when charging the mobile device.”).
However, Wippler does not explicitly show that “wherein the power transmitter and the base wireless data transceiver are positioned relative to the module locator such that when the module locator receives and secures the module, to align a power receiver on the module is aligned with[[ to]] the power transmitter to receive power therefrom, and to align a module wireless data transceiver on the module is aligned with the base wireless data transceiver for wireless communication therebetween.”
In the same field of endeavor Oster teaches a system or wireless power where a module is provided (can be used in vehicle (see par. 0083) that contains the wireless power receiver and couples to a device powered by the wireless power circuitry. The device exchanges power and data via transceivers (see par. 0052 and fig. 11). Further, the module is configured to couple to the device in a fixed position that affixes an orientation of the antenna relative to the device (see abstract). Par. 0034 shows “Such wireless receiver containers 552a and 552b can be used in conjunction with the receptacles 558a and 558b of FIG. 5B. As can be seen, the receptacles 558a and 558b have protrusions 560a and 560b, respectively that prevent insertion of the containers 552a and 552b unless properly aligned, which thereby properly orients the antennas.” Fig. 6a and par. 0036 shows “FIGS. 6A and 6B are somewhat similar wireless receiver container examples to those of FIGS. 5A and 5B, except that the protrusions 664a and 664b are on the cylinders 662a and 662b, respectively, while the grooves/notches 670a and 670b are on the receptacles 668a and 668b, respectively. Again, aligned insertion, and thus corresponding antenna orientation, is ensured by the exemplified mechanical scheme. Note that part of the wireless receiver antenna can be designed to extend into a protrusion 664.”
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 receptacle that receives and secures the module and aligns the module’s transceiver with base transceiver and modules power receiver with base power transmitter when secured and received as taught by Oster in the system of Wippler, in order to ease insertion by a user for proper alignment for data and power transfer (see par. 0034 of Oster).
The newly added limitations (partially from cancelled claim 19) state “the base unit comprises a plurality of electronic components; and when the module is located in the module locator, the plurality of electronic components is operable in combination with the module for implementing new or extended user experience (UX) functions in the base unit in response to the module locator receiving and securing the module.”
King teaches a “a head unit for a vehicle entertainment system, including a housing, a radio, a first wireless transceiver, and a second wireless transceiver. The second wireless transceiver may be used to provide a dedicated communications link between the head unit and another electronic device, such as an auxiliary unit. The second wireless transceiver may have a serial port profile (SPP), and may be a Bluetooth transceiver.” (see abstract). “The use of an auxiliary unit allows head unit functionality to be modified and improved without updating the electronic configuration of the head unit. This allows head unit design to have a longer operational life, and allows system upgrades and automobile option offerings to be varied as a function of auxiliary unit capability. For example, an auxiliary unit may be configured to add navigation capabilities, satellite radio, Internet access, hands-free communications with a cell phone, and other capabilities that may not be provided by the standard head unit.” (i.e. multimedia upgrades) (see par. 0012, fig. 2 and 4).
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 upgrade a vehicle multimedia unit as taught by King in the modified system of Wippler and Oster, in order to add capabilities for the user of the vehicle unit (see par. 0012 of King).
Claims 30, 34 and 36-37 are rejected for the same reasons set forth above because the claims have similar limitations or have been addressed.
Regarding Claim 17 Wippler teaches the limitations "The system according to claim 16, further comprising the module" (See fig. 1 (104)).
Regarding Claim 18 Wippler teaches the limitations "The system according to claim 16, wherein the module locator further comprises a cooling surface for absorbing heat from the module" (see fig. 2a and par. 0031 “As the air is drawn by the suction device 208 through the apertures 202 past the mobile device 104, the drawn air cools the mobile device 104.”).
Claim 32 is rejected for the same reasons set forth above because the claims have similar limitations or have been addressed.
Regarding Claim 19 Wippler teaches the limitations The system according to claim 16, wherein the base unit comprises a plurality of base electronic components for implementing base electronic functions, (see fig. 3 (301) and wherein when the module is located in the module locator, (see fig. 1 (104 in 102) upgrade electronic components in the module are operable in combination with the base electronic components for implementing upgraded electronic functions" (see par. 0020-0021, where electronic functions of suction and charging occur based on sensors in combination with mobile 104).
Regarding Claim 20 Wippler teaches the limitations "The system according to claim 16, wherein the power transmitter is a wireless power transmitter" (see abstract and par. 0016, wireless charging using induction).
Claim 31 is rejected for the same reasons set forth above because the claims have similar limitations or have been addressed.
Regarding Claim 21 Wippler teaches the limitations "The system according to claim 20, wherein the wireless power transmitter comprises: a data transfer modulator for transferring data between the power receiver and the power transmitter" (see par. 0046 “The wireless charger may perform steps to determine whether the mobile device is capable of being charged wirelessly. This may involve an exchange of data between the mobile device and the wireless charger using a short-range data communications protocol. The wireless charger may also receive charging data from the mobile device including a charging frequency and a charge level of the mobile device. The wireless charger may use the charging data from the mobile device when charging the mobile device.”).
Regarding Claim 24 Wippler teaches the limitations "The system according to claim 16, wherein the base wireless data transceiver and the module wireless data transceiver communicate using at least one of a radio frequency link, a wireless personal area network, a microwave link, an optical link, or a two digit GHz data link" (see par. 0046 “The wireless charger may perform steps to determine whether the mobile device is capable of being charged wirelessly. This may involve an exchange of data between the mobile device and the wireless charger using a short-range data communications protocol. “).
Regarding Claim 25 Wippler teaches the limitations "The system according to claim 16, further comprising: a module receiving part for housing the power transmitter, the base wireless data transceiver, and the module locator" (see fig. 1 (102) and par. 0045-0046, tray is equated to locator, which houses wireless power charger and the transceiver for communication with mobile device 104).
Regarding Claim 27 Wippler teaches the limitations "The system according to claim 16: wherein the base unit comprises a plurality of base electronic components for implementing base electronic functions and, (see fig. 3) when the module is located in the module locator, upgrade electronic components in the module are operable in combination with the base electronic components for implementing upgraded electronic functions, (see par. 0020-0021, where upgrade electronic functions of suction and charging occur based on sensors in combination with mobile 104) and wherein the power transmitter is a wireless power transmitter" (see abstract “wireless charging”).
Regarding Claim 28 Wippler teaches the limitations "The system according to claim 27, wherein the base wireless data transceiver and the module wireless data transceiver communicate using at least one of a radio frequency link, a wireless personal area network, a microwave link, an optical link, or a two digit GHz data link" (see par. 0046 “The wireless charger may perform steps to determine whether the mobile device is capable of being charged wirelessly. This may involve an exchange of data between the mobile device and the wireless charger using a short-range data communications protocol. “).
Regarding Claim 29 Wippler teaches the limitations "The system according to claim 16, wherein the base unit comprises a plurality of base electronic components for implementing base electronic functions, (see fig. 3) wherein when the module is located in the module locator, upgrade electronic components in the module are operable in combination with the base electronic components for implementing upgraded electronic functions, and (see par. 0020-0021, where upgrade electronic functions of suction and charging occur based on sensors in combination with mobile 104) and wherein the power transmitter is a wireless power transmitter" (see abstract “wireless charging”).
wherein the base wireless data transceiver and the module wireless data transceiver communicate using at least one of a radio frequency link, a wireless personal area network, a microwave link, an optical link, or a two digit GHz data link" (see par. 0046 “The wireless charger may perform steps to determine whether the mobile device is capable of being charged wirelessly. This may involve an exchange of data between the mobile device and the wireless charger using a short-range data communications protocol. “).
Regarding Claim 33 Wippler teaches the limitations "The module according to claim 30, further comprising a rechargeable energy store for powering components within the module prior to the power receiver receiving power from the vehicle electronics system" (see par. 0012 “cellphone” has a battery).
Claim 26 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wippler and Oster as applied to claim 25 above.
Regarding Claim 26 Wippler teaches the limitations "The system according to claim 25, wherein the module receiving part is electrically connected to the base unit (see fig. 3 and fig. 2A and par. 0035) but does not explicitly disclose it is connected “through a cable connector."
Wippler does show that “The ECU 302, the wireless charger 304, the suction device 306, the sensor 308, and the switch 310 may all be part of a vehicle 301 and the mobile device 312 may be located within the vehicle 301, but may or may not be an integrated part of the vehicle 301.” (see par. 0035).
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 use a cable connector if not integral to the vehicle as suggested by Wippler, in order to adapt for use scenarios in vehicle and improve user satisfaction (see par. 0012).
Claims 23 and 35 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wippler, Oster and King as applied to claim 16 above, in view of Bridgelall et al. (US 2007/0096876 A1).
Regarding Claim 23 Wippler teaches the system according to claim 16, but does not disclose “wherein the base wireless data transceiver comprises: a first plurality of antennas for communication with a second plurality of antennas of the module wireless data transceiver using a Multiple-Input Multiple- Output method.”
In the same field of endeavor Bridgelall teaches an RFID system where “MIMO circuitry 718 makes use of multiple transmit and receive antennas, or antenna diversity, to address Rayleigh fading in a multi-path environment. That is to say, fading at each antenna is statistically independent of the other antennas and resulting signals can be combined to produce an output signal. MIMO circuitry 718 has superior a signal-to-noise ratio as each antenna signal is combined in phase, while noise is added incoherently. In alternative embodiments, MIMO circuitry 718 can use antenna selection diversity to select an antenna with highest received signal power, or use switched multi-beam techniques to select the beam with the highest signal-to-noise ratio.” (see abstract, fig. 7 and par. 0106).
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 use multiple input and output antennas as taught by Bridgelall in the system of Wippler and Oster, in order to improve SNR (par. 0106).
Regarding Claim 35 Wippler and Oster teaches the limitations "The method according to claim 34, further comprising the steps of: transmitting power from the power transmitter to the power receiver for powering components in the upgrade module; (see par. 0038 “The wireless charger 304 is configured to be electrically coupled to the mobile device 312 and charge the mobile device 312. In some embodiments, the wireless charger 304 charges the mobile device 312 using inductive charging.”);
Further, Wippler shows “In other embodiments, the ECU 302 communicates with the wireless charger 304 to determine whether the mobile device 312 is capable of wireless charging or whether the mobile device 312 is fully charged, and the ECU 302 instructs the wireless charger 304 accordingly.” (see par. 0042). In other words, Wippler shows initialization for wireless charging using data exchanged between charger and phone).
However, Wippler does not explicitly disclose “modulating the power transmitted for transferring initialization data between the power receiver and the power transmitter;
processing the initialization data using the powered components in the upgrade module; and activating the module wireless data transceiver based on the processed initialization data to establish wireless communications with the base wireless data transceiver.”
Bridgelall teaches “The antenna emits electromagnetic (EM) waves generated by the transceiver, which, when received by tag, activates the tag. Once the tag activates, it communicates using radio waves back to the reader, thereby identifying the item to which it is attached” (see par. 0003) and par. 0048 “the reader can alter its duty cycle. That is, based on predictive modeling (or any of the inputs set forth in FIG. 1), the reader can modulate its power on duty cycle. For example, if the long term read rates are typically low and infrequent, then the reader need not be on at 100% duty cycle. Lowering the duty cycle minimizes interference and leaves more bandwidth for higher duty cycle readers in proximity to operate. In addition, linear predictive signal processing algorithms (as used in speech processing) can be utilized to anticipate gaps in the read cycle, thereby adjusting duty cycle accordingly.”
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 activate a transceiver based on modulated energy as taught by Bridgelall in the system of Wippler and Oster, in order to reduce power consumption (see e.g. par. 0012 of Bridgelall).
Conclusion
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