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 .
Status of Claims
This Office Action is in response to the application filed on 5/9/2023. Claims 1-20 are presently pending and are presented for examination.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 11/10/2023, 4/29/2024, 3/19/2026 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 and 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Johnson (US 20200398688).
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As to claim 1) Johnson discloses a charging station for use with a robotic tool (Fig. 2-5), the charging station comprising:
a first column defining a first column axis (Fig. 5 above); a second column defining a second column axis (Fig. 5 above); a first charging terminal pivotably coupled to the first column for rotation about the first column axis (Fig. 2a-2B “+”), wherein the first charging terminal includes at least one electrode (Fig. 2a-2B “+”); and a second charging terminal pivotably coupled to the second column for rotation about the second column axis (Fig. 2a-2B “-”), wherein the second charging terminal includes at least one electrode (Fig. 2a-2B “-”).
As to claim 6) Johnson discloses the charging station of claim 1, wherein the at least one electrode of the first charging terminal has an opposite polarity of the at least one electrode of the second charging terminal ((Fig. 2a-2B “+”, and “-“).
Claims 9-10 and 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Ichige (JP 2016208885).
As to claim 9, Ichige discloses a robotic tool (Fig. 2 mower 1) comprising:
a body having an outer surface (Fig. 2, (10) §.[0016}-{0017]), the body having a front end , a first side end extending from the front end, and a second side end extending from the front end opposite the first side end (fig.2-3);
one or more driven wheels coupled to the body (fig.2~3, (12a, 12b, 13a, 13b) .[0016)(0017]);
a working tool coupled to the body ([0016], the cutting blade);
a battery (fig.2-4, (27),[0019]); and
a positive charging plate including (fig.2-4, (42) [0027]-[0028]);
a first portion extending partially along the front end of the body (Fig. 3), a second portion extending at least partially along the first side of the body (Fig. 3), and
a ground charging plate (fig.2-4, (42) [0027]-[0028]), including: a third portion extending partially along the front end of the body (Fig. 3), and a fourth portion extending at least partially along the second side of the body (Fig. 3).
As to claim 10, Ichige discloses the robotic tool of claim 9, wherein the positive charging plate and the ground charging plate are substantially identical in size and shape (Fig. 2) .
As to claim 14, Ichige discloses the robotic tool of claim 9, wherein the working tool is a rotating blade ([0021] A motor 30 for rotating the cutting blade 35).
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, 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 2-5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Johnson (US 20200398688) in view of Jiao (US 20190222043).
As to claim 2) Johnson discloses the charging station of claim 1.
Johnson does not disclose/teach wherein at least one of the first charging terminal and the second charging terminal includes a plurality of horizontally stacked portions
Jiao teaches wherein at least one of the first charging terminal and the second charging terminal includes a plurality of horizontally stacked portions ([0045] Referring to FIG. 9, the charging contact 9 is elastically connected to the charging support 45 by using an elastic connection portion. The elastic connection portion comprises a supporting portion 12 supporting the charging contact 9 and a rotary spring 52 actuating the supporting portion 12 to rotate the supporting portion 12)
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date, to modify the charging station of Johnson to wherein at least one of the first charging terminal and the second charging terminal includes a plurality of horizontally stacked portions in order to including a supporting structure to support the charging terminals.
As to claim 3) Johnson in view of Jiao teaches the charging station of claim 2 wherein at least one of the first charging terminal and the second charging terminal includes a first portion forming a first surface, a second portion forming a second surface opposite the first surface (Fig. 9 and [0045] of Jaio contact 9 on opposing terminals. See also Fig. 5 where contact 9 can be connected to the device from both directions) , and a third portion positioned between the first portion and the second portion (Fig. 9 and [0045] of Jaio)
As to claim 4) Johnson in view of Jiao teaches the charging station of claim 3, wherein the first portion and the second portion are formed from a conductive material (Fig. 9 and [0045] of Jaio other end of contact 9. See Fig. 5 where contact 9 can be connected to the device from both directions) , and wherein the third portion is formed from an insulating material (elastic connection 12 ([0045] of Jaio Since contact 9 is conductive on both sides. Supporting structure 12 is in between contact 9)
As to claim 5) Johnson in view of Jiao teaches the charging station of claim 3, wherein one of the first surface and the second surface forms a positive electrode and the other of the first surface and the second surface forms a ground electrode (Fig. 2A-2B of Johnson).
Claims 7-8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Johnson (US 20200398688) in view of Jiao (US 20190222043) in view of Chen (US 20120206194).
As to claim 7, Johnson in view of Jiao teaches the charging station of claim 1.
Johnson in view of Jiao does not disclose/teach further comprising a controller, wherein the controller can change the polarity of the at least one electrode of the first charging terminal and the at least one electrode of the second charging terminal.
Chen teaches further comprising a controller, wherein the controller can change the polarity of the at least one electrode of the first charging terminal and the at least one electrode of the second charging terminal (Abstract. a polarity switch circuit for a charger is disclosed. The circuit includes a polarity switch unit and an input control unit. The polarity switch unit includes an input end, an output end, a correct-direction connecting circuit, and a reverse-direction connecting circuit. The correct-direction connecting circuit has a first switch unit and a second switch unit. When the load is plugged correctly, the positive input node is connected to the positive output node by the first switch unit, and the negative input node is connected to the negative output node by the second switch unit. The reverse-direction connecting circuit includes a third switch unit and a fourth switch unit. When the load is plugged reversely, the positive input node is connected to the negative output node by the third switch unit, and the negative input node is connected to the positive output node by the fourth switch unit).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date, to modify the charging station of Johnson to include a controller, wherein the controller can change the polarity of the at least one electrode of the first charging terminal and the at least one electrode of the second charging terminal in order to accommodate the load if it is plugged in or reversely connected, thereby facilitating operation.
As to claim 8) Johnson in view of Jiao in view of Chen teaches the charging station of claim 7, wherein the robotic tool can access the charging station from a first direction and a second direction opposite of the first direction (Fig. 2A-2B and [0019] of Johnson where drone 150 have different orientation of the landing) , wherein the controller changes the polarity based on whether the robotic tool accesses the charging station from the first direction or the second direction (Abstract of Chen).
Claims 11-13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ichige (JP 2016208885).
As to claim 11, Ichige discloses the robotic tool of claim 9.
Ichige does not disclose/teach wherein the second portion of the positive charging plate has a greater surface area than the first portion of the positive charging plate.
However, it is well know that surface areas of conductive plates are not identical due to manufacturing tolerance. It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date, to modify the second portion of the positive charging plate to a greater surface area than the first portion of the positive charging plate as it is merely a difference in shape.
As to claim 12, Ichige discloses the robotic tool of claim 9.
Ichige does not disclose/teach the fourth portion of the ground charging plate has a greater surface area than the third portion of the ground charging plate
However, it is well know that surface areas of conductive plates are not identical due to manufacturing tolerance. It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date, to modify the fourth portion of the ground charging plate to have a greater surface area than the third portion of the ground charging plate as it is merely a difference in shape.
As to claim 13, Ichige discloses the robotic tool of claim 9.
Ichige does not disclose/teach wherein the ground charging plate has a greater total surface area than the total surface area of the positive charging plate
However, It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date, to modify the ground charging plate to have a greater total surface area than the total surface area of the positive charging plate in order to ensure the ground plate make good contact with the terminal to complete the circuit.
Claims 15-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Johnson (US 20200398688) in view of Ichige (JP 2016208885).
As to claim 15, Johnson discloses a robotic tool kit (Fig. 2A-2B), comprising:
a charging station (Fig. 2A-2B), including:
a first column defining a first column axis (Fig. 5 above), and a first charging terminal pivotally coupled to the first column for rotation about the first column axis (Fig. 2a-2B “+”), wherein the first charging terminal extends radially outwardly from the first column to produce at least one electrode (Fig. 2A-2B electrodes 110,112); and a robotic tool (Fig. 2A-2B, 150) comprising: a body having an exterior surface (Fig. 2A-2B); a battery (Fig. 1 Drone battery), and a first charging plate open to the exterior surface of the body (Fig. 2A-2B connection to electrodes 110,112 from drone 150), wherein the first charging plate is configured to contact and form an electrical connection with the at least one electrode (Fig. 2A-2B).
Johnson does not disclose/teach at least one driven wheel coupled to the body
Ichige teaches at least one driven wheel coupled to the body (fig.2~3, (12a, 12b, 13a, 13b) .[0016)(0017]).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date, to modify the robotic tool kit of Johnson to at least one have a driven wheel coupled to the body in order to drive the drone to the charging station after it has landed.
As to claim 16, Johnson in view of Ichige teaches the robotic tool kit of claim 15, wherein the at least one electrode of the charging terminal is located over a first vertical height range from a support surface (Fig. 6 where the support system is the surface in which the charging station sits), and wherein the first charging plate is located over a second vertical height range from the support surface (Fig. 2 where the connector and the charging terminal connect), and wherein the first vertical height range overlaps with the second vertical height range (Fig. 2 and 6-7).
As to claim 17, Johnson in view of Ichige teaches the robotic tool kit of claim 15, wherein the charging terminal includes a front surface and a back surface (Fig. 2A-2B of Johnson), and wherein one of the front surface and the back surface forms the positive electrode and the other of the back surface and the front surface forms the ground electrode (Fig. 2A-2B of Johnson positive and negative electrodes).
As to claim 18, Johnson in view of Ichige teaches the robotic tool kit of claim 17, further comprising: a second charging plate coupled and open to the exterior surface of the body (Fig. 2A-2B connection to electrodes 110,112 from drone 150); a second column defining a second column axis (Fig. 5 of Johnson); a second charging terminal pivotably coupled to the second column for rotation about the second column axis (Fig. 5 of Johnson electrodes “+” and “-“), wherein the second charging terminal extends radially outwardly from the second column to produce at least one electrode (Fig. 5 of Johnson above).
As to claim 19, Johnson in view of Ichige teaches the robotic tool kit of claim 18, wherein the first charging terminal and the second charging terminal are positioned a first distance from a support surface (Fig. 2A-2B and 6-8), wherein the first charging plate and the second charging plate are positioned a second distance from the support surface (Fig. 2A-2B and 6-8)
Johnson in view of Ichige does not disclose/teach wherein the first distance is the same as the second distance.
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the robotic tool kit of Johnson to make the first distance is the same as the second distance in order to make sure the electrodes and the terminals make contact to facilitating charging.
As to claim 20, Johnson in view of Ichige teaches the robotic tool kit of claim 15, wherein the charging terminal can rotate about the first column axis in a first direction and a second direction (Fig. 3-4 of Johnson).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TYNESE V MCDANIEL whose telephone number is (313)446-6579. The examiner can normally be reached on M to F, 9am to 530pm.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Taelor Kim can be reached at 571-270-7166. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/TYNESE V MCDANIEL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2859