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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of papers submitted under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d), which papers have been placed of record in the file.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
4. Claims 2 and 3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
5. Claims 2 and 3 recite the limitation “each lane”, which implies there are multiple lanes. However claim 1 only recites “a lane”, therefore there is an insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
6. 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.
7. Claims 1, 8, 13, and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Shibanuma et al (2023/0110224), hereinafter Shibanuma.
With respect to claims 1 and 8, Shibanuma teaches in paragraph 0036 (see figure 1), a power supply equipment (100) of a static and dynamic wireless charging electric road (105), comprising: an inverter (inverter circuit: paragraph 0038); and a power supply line electrically coupled to the inverter (paragraph 0038), for wirelessly providing power to a vehicle (202) traveling along a lane, wherein the power supply line includes: a plurality of power supply coils (40U) receiving alternating current (paragraph 0037) from the inverter (inverter circuit: paragraph 0038) and arranged partially superimposed on each other (paragraph 0097); and a power supply core installed at the bottom of the plurality of power supply coils. See paragraphs 0036-0038.
With respect to claim 13, Shibanuma teaches in paragraphs 0041-0056, a pick-up device for a vehicle travelling on a static and dynamic wireless charging electric road, comprising: a plurality of pick-up coils (vehicle 202 includes power reception coil unit 240U; plurality of reception coils 240U; pair of coils 248: paragraph 0114) installed to select an induced voltage above a threshold based on a voltage level (paragraph 0037); and a pick-up core (42: paragraph 0055) installed on top of the plurality of pick-up coils (paragraph 0055). Specifically disclosed is a power reception device, power reception coil unit, and ferrite core.
With respect to claims 14 and 15, Shibanuma teaches in paragraph 0042, the pick-up device, wherein the pick-up coils are in embedded/overlapping form (configured to have a plurality of power reception coil units are installed therein – in the vehicle).
With respect to claim 16, Shibanuma teaches in paragraphs 0037-0038 and 0043, a power supply system of a static and dynamic wireless charging electric road, comprising: two or more inverters as referred in claim 1 or claim 8; and a common PFC electrically connected with each of the inverters to supply direct current and receive three-phase power (paragraph 0043).
With respect to claim 17, Shibanuma teaches in paragraphs 0039-0040, a method for controlling a power supply equipment of a static and dynamic wireless charging electric road, comprising the steps of: (a) identifying a vehicle entering a power supply line in the power supply equipment; (b) estimating a charging capacity of the vehicle identified (power reception-side communication unit 222 provide in the vehicle 202: paragraph 0040) in the step (a); and (c) causing a current to flow in at least one of power supply coils of the power supply line such that a power corresponding to the charging capacity of the vehicle estimated in the step (b) could be supplied.
With respect to claim 18, Shibanuma teaches in paragraph 0036, a method comprising the steps of: (a) confirming entry of a vehicle (202) equipped with multiple pick-up units into a power supply line of a power supply equipment (200); (b) detecting a degree of misalignment in the power supply line entered in the step (a) (paragraphs 0037 and 0039 disclose vehicle position detection units 20); and (c) causing at least one of a plurality of pick-up coils of the multiple pick-up units to be selected according to the degree of misalignment detected in the step (b) (paragraphs 0038-0039). “Alternatively, each of the vehicle position detection units 20 may communicate with, for example, a vehicle-side position sensor 225 provided in the vehicle 202 and detect, based on the communication strength, whether the vehicle 202 is located above the corresponding segment SG. According to the position of the vehicle 202 detected by the vehicle position detection units 20, the power transmission circuits 30 perform electric power transmission using one or more power transmission coil units 40U located close to the vehicle 202. The power supply-side control unit 16 controls the supply of electric power from the segments SG to the vehicle 202. In addition, each of the vehicle position detection units 20 may detect the position of the vehicle 202 by other methods, such as using a camera, a search coil or a laser.”
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
8. 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.
9. Claims 4-6 and 10-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shibanuma in view of Suh et al (2013/0092491).
Shibanuma’s teachings are discussed above, including a power supply core. Shibanuma however fails to specifically teach the shape of the power supply core being a lattice shape.
With respect to claims 4-6 and 10-12, Suh teaches in paragraph 0073, the power supply core 120 being configured to have a lattice structure. Figure 3 illustrates the power supply core 120 is in a shape of lattice, a discontinuous horizontal bar, and a discontinuous horizontal bar and vertical bar continuous at both ends.
In view of Suh’s teachings, it would have been obvious to an artisan of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to configure the power supply core of Shibanuma according to the lattice configuration taught by Suh, including the discontinuous horizontal and vertical members that collectively form the lattice. One would be motivated to use this particular power supply shape in order to reduce material usage as is taught in paragraph 0076 of Suh.
Allowable Subject Matter
10. Claims 7 and 9 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 an examiner’s reason for allowance: Although Shibanuma teaches a power supply equipment of static and dynamic wireless charging electric road, including an inverter, a power supply line including a plurality of power supply coils and a power supply core, the above identified prior art of record, taken alone, or in combination with any other prior art, fails to teach or fairly suggest the specific features of claims 7 and 9 of the present claimed invention. Specifically, prior art fails to teach the power supply equipment, wherein the power supply line includes a plurality of cap-boxes for stepping down the voltage applied to the plurality of power supply coils and the power supply equipment, further comprising multiple cap-boxes to step down the voltage applied to the common line. The above limitations are not disclosed in prior art and moreover, one of ordinary skill in the art would not have been motivated to come to the claimed invention.
Conclusion
11. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant’s disclosure: See attached PTO form 892, Refence Cited.
12. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Allyson N. Trail whose telephone number is (571) 272-2406. The examiner can normally be reached between the hours of 7:30AM to 4:00PM Monday thru Friday.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Thomas Pham, can be reached on (571) 272-3689. The fax phone number for this Group is (571) 273-8300.
Communications via Internet e-mail regarding this application, other than those under 35 U.S.C. 132 or which otherwise require a signature, may be used by the applicant and should be addressed to [allyson.trail@uspto.gov].
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/ALLYSON N TRAIL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2876
June 27, 2026
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