Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 23, 2026
Application No. 18/381,610

ELECTRONIC DEVICE, CHARGER, AND CONTROL METHOD AND CONTROL APPARATUS THEREFOR

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Oct 18, 2023
Priority
Apr 19, 2021 — CN 202110419214.2 +1 more
Examiner
WEINMANN, RYU-SUNG PETER
Art Unit
2859
Tech Center
2800 — Semiconductors & Electrical Systems
Assignee
Vivo Mobile Communication Co., Ltd.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
53%
Grant Probability
Moderate
1-2
OA Rounds
6m
Est. Remaining
72%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 53% of resolved cases
53%
Career Allowance Rate
16 granted / 30 resolved
-14.7% vs TC avg
Strong +19% interview lift
Without
With
+19.0%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 6m
Avg Prosecution
17 currently pending
Career history
69
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
3.9%
-36.1% vs TC avg
§103
44.8%
+4.8% vs TC avg
§102
31.9%
-8.1% vs TC avg
§112
17.9%
-22.1% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 30 resolved cases

Office Action

§102
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 Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). The certified copy has been received. Information Disclosure Statement The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 10/18/2023 is/are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the reference(s) given in the IDS is/are being considered by the examiner. Claim Objections Claims 5-7 and 9-11 objected to because of the following informalities: Claims 5-6 and 9-10 recite “the controlling, by using a first control member of the electronic device when the target state meets a preset condition, a first magnetic member of the electronic device to switch from a first state to a second state comprises” instead of “the controlling, by using the first control member of the electronic device when the target state meets the preset condition, the first magnetic member of the electronic device to switch from the first state to the second state comprises” Claims 7 and 11 recite “controlling, by using the first control member, the first magnetic member to rotate a first target angle, so that the first magnetic member switches from the first state to the second state; and a first magnetic portion of the first control member is in a first location and a second magnetic portion of the first control member is in a second location in the first state, and the first magnetic portion moves to the second location by rotating the first target angle and the second magnetic portion moves to the first location by rotating the first target angle in the second state.” instead of “controlling, by using the first control member, the first magnetic member to rotate by a first target angle, so that the first magnetic member switches from the first state to the second state; and a first magnetic portion of the first control member is in a first location and a second magnetic portion of the first control member is in a second location in the first state, and the first magnetic portion moves to the second location by rotating to the first target angle and the second magnetic portion moves to the first location by rotating to the first target angle in the second state.” Appropriate correction is required. 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. (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. Claims 1-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Su et al. (CN 110994739 A, published 2020-04-10, citations given from Espacenet English translation, 220 pages). Regarding independent claim 1, Su teaches an electronic device (Fig. 1), comprising: a first magnetic member comprising a first magnetic portion (¶[70-71]: first electromagnet 72) and a second magnetic portion (first magnetic component), wherein the first magnetic portion is different from the second magnetic portion; and a first control member configured to control the first magnetic member to switch between a first state and a second state, wherein when the first magnetic member is in the first state, the first magnetic member and a second magnetic member of a charger are attracted to each other (¶[70]: the first driving circuit 73 outputs current in the first direction to the first electromagnet 72, the first electromagnet 72 attracts the first magnetic component, so that the first connecting part 71 and the second connecting part are connected, so as to charge the battery in the electronic device through the charger), and when the first magnetic member is in the second state, the first magnetic member and the second magnetic member are separated from each other (¶[71]: component is manually disconnected). Regarding claim 2, Su teaches the electronic device according to claim 1, wherein when the first magnetic portion is a south magnetic pole, the second magnetic portion is a north magnetic pole (¶[70]: the first electromagnet 72 attracting the first magnetic component implies that each first electromagnet and first magnetic component have an opposite magnetic pole); or when the first magnetic portion is in a magnetized state, the second magnetic portion is in a demagnetized state (alternative claim language). Regarding claim 3, Su teaches the electronic device according to claim 1, further comprising: a first charging coil (¶[54]: first coil 722), wherein the first magnetic portion (¶[54]: first iron core 721) and the second magnetic portion are disposed at intervals around the first charging coil (Fig. 1: first iron core 721 disposed at intervals around first coil 722. The first magnetic component that attracts to the first iron core 721 is assumed to have the same disposition when coupled to the first iron core 721). Regarding independent claim 4, Su teaches a control method for an electronic device (Fig. 1), comprising: obtaining a target state of the electronic device (¶[71] device fully charged); and controlling, by using a first control member of the electronic device when the target state meets a preset condition, a first magnetic member of the electronic device to switch from a first state to a second state (¶[71] and Fig. 1: when device is fully charged first driving circuit 71 output current in the second direction to demagnetize the first electromagnet 72), wherein: when the first magnetic member is in the first state, the first magnetic member and a second magnetic member of a charger are attracted to each other (¶[70]: the first driving circuit 73 outputs current in the first direction to the first electromagnet 72, the first electromagnet 72 attracts the first magnetic component, so that the first connecting part 71 and the second connecting part are connected, so as to charge the battery in the electronic device through the charger), and when the first magnetic member is in the second state, the first magnetic member and the second magnetic member are separated from each other (¶[71]: examiner interprets demagnetized as separated). Regarding claim 5, Su teaches the control method for the electronic device according to claim 4, wherein: the target state comprises at least one of the following: a battery level state, a response state, a location state, or a running state; and the controlling, by using a first control member of the electronic device when the target state meets a preset condition, a first magnetic member of the electronic device to switch from a first state to a second state comprises: when a battery level indicated by the battery level state is greater than a threshold, controlling, by using the first control member, the first magnetic member to switch from the first state to the second state (¶[71] and Fig. 1: when device is fully charged first driving circuit 71 output current in the second direction to demagnetize the first electromagnet 72); or when the response state indicates that a first input is received, controlling, by using the first control member, the first magnetic member to switch from the first state to the second state (alternative claim language); or when the location state indicates being in a preset safe location, controlling, by using the first control member, the first magnetic member to switch from the first state to the second state (alternative claim language); or when the running state indicates that a target application is running, controlling, by using the first control member, the first magnetic member to switch from the first state to the second state (alternative claim language). Regarding claim 6, Su teaches the control method for the electronic device according to claim 4, wherein the controlling, by using a first control member of the electronic device when the target state meets a preset condition, a first magnetic member of the electronic device to switch from a first state to a second state comprises: controlling, by using the first control member, the first magnetic member to rotate, so that the first magnetic member switches from the first state to the second state; or controlling, by using the first control member, the first magnetic member to flip, so that the first magnetic member switches from the first state to the second state; or controlling, by using the first control member, the first magnetic member to demagnetize, so that the first magnetic member switches from the first state to the second state (¶[71] and Fig. 1: when device is fully charged first driving circuit 71 output current in the second direction to demagnetize the first electromagnet 72). Regarding independent claim 8, Su teaches an electronic device (Fig. 1), comprising a processor; and a memory having a computer program or an instruction stored thereon, wherein the computer program or the instruction (¶[4, 25-26, 46, 199, 253, 396, 414-415, 417]: computer with computer software product stored in a storage medium), when executed by the processor (¶[86, 25, 407, 411-412, 414-415]: first processor connected to first electromagnet 72), causes the processor to implement operations, comprising: obtaining a target state of the electronic device (¶[71] device fully charged); and controlling, by using a first control member of the electronic device when the target state meets a preset condition, a first magnetic member of the electronic device to switch from a first state to a second state (¶[71] and Fig. 1: when device is fully charged first driving circuit 71 output current in the second direction to demagnetize the first electromagnet 72), wherein: when the first magnetic member is in the first state, the first magnetic member and a second magnetic member of a charger are attracted to each other (¶[70]: the first driving circuit 73 outputs current in the first direction to the first electromagnet 72, the first electromagnet 72 attracts the first magnetic component, so that the first connecting part 71 and the second connecting part are connected, so as to charge the battery in the electronic device through the charger), and when the first magnetic member is in the second state, the first magnetic member and the second magnetic member are separated from each other (¶[71]: examiner interprets demagnetized as separated). Regarding claim 9, Su teaches the electronic device according to claim 8, wherein: the target state comprises at least one of the following: a battery level state, a response state, a location state, or a running state; and the controlling, by using a first control member of the electronic device when the target state meets a preset condition, a first magnetic member of the electronic device to switch from a first state to a second state comprises: when a battery level indicated by the battery level state is greater than a threshold, controlling, by using the first control member, the first magnetic member to switch from the first state to the second state (¶[71] and Fig. 1: when device is fully charged first driving circuit 71 output current in the second direction to demagnetize the first electromagnet 72); or when the response state indicates that a first input is received, controlling, by using the first control member, the first magnetic member to switch from the first state to the second state (alternative claim language); or when the location state indicates being in a preset safe location, controlling, by using the first control member, the first magnetic member to switch from the first state to the second state (alternative claim language); or when the running state indicates that a target application is running, controlling, by using the first control member, the first magnetic member to switch from the first state to the second state (alternative claim language). Regarding claim 10, Su teaches the electronic device according to claim 8, wherein the controlling, by using a first control member of the electronic device when the target state meets a preset condition, a first magnetic member of the electronic device to switch from a first state to a second state comprises: controlling, by using the first control member, the first magnetic member to rotate, so that the first magnetic member switches from the first state to the second state (alternative claim language); or controlling, by using the first control member, the first magnetic member to flip, so that the first magnetic member switches from the first state to the second state (alternative claim language); or controlling, by using the first control member, the first magnetic member to demagnetize, so that the first magnetic member switches from the first state to the second state (¶[71] and Fig. 1: when device is fully charged first driving circuit 71 output current in the second direction to demagnetize the first electromagnet 72). NOTE: Claims 7 and 11 depend on limitations in claims 6 and 10 respectively that are recited in the alternative. Therefore these claims are anticipated by Su. Regarding claim 7, Su teaches the control method for the electronic device according to claim 6. Regarding claim 11, Su teaches the electronic device according to claim 10. Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Cleghorn et al. (US 20200129822 A1) teaches locking using magnetic inserts and rotating (¶[171]). Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Ryu-Sung P. Weinmann whose telephone number is (703)756-5964. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9am-5pm ET. 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, 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. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /Ryu-Sung P. Weinmann/Examiner, Art Unit 2859 September 28, 2026 /JULIAN D HUFFMAN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2859
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Oct 18, 2023
Application Filed
Oct 01, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102 (current)

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
53%
Grant Probability
72%
With Interview (+19.0%)
3y 6m (~6m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 30 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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