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 .
Drawings
The drawings are objected to because the “accommodation groove 25” is incorrectly labeled “22” in Fig. 4.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities:
Based on the figures and the specification as a whole, it appears there are two instances in the specification where the statement “The third wireless charging module is rotationally connected to the first wireless charging module”, in particular on page 2 and on page 6. It is believed the correct statement should be “The third wireless charging module is rotationally connected to the second wireless charging module”.
Also, on page 9, change “third charging table 22” to “third charging table 31”, two instances.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Objections
Claims 1-8 are objected to because of the following informalities: As in the objection to the specification, it appears the last part of claim 1 should change from:
“the third wireless charging module is rotationally connected to the first wireless charging module” to:
“the third wireless charging module is rotationally connected to the second wireless charging module”.
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, 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 1-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over HE U.S. PGPub 2024/0328569 A1 (hereinafter HE) (relying on CN 202320697399 with a publication date of 11/7/2023) in view of Lin U.S. Patent 4,759,240 (hereinafter Lin).
Regarding Claim 1, HE teaches a multi-form wireless charging device (HE, Fig. 17; Paras. [0051] – [0054]), comprising a first wireless charging module (HE, Fig. 10, Element 23; Para. [0052]), a second wireless charging module (HE, Fig. 10, Element 43; Para. [0052]), and a third wireless charging module (HE, Fig. 10, Element 33; Para. [0052]), wherein side edges of the first wireless charging module and the second wireless charging module are connected through a rotating device (HE, Fig. 10, Element 50; Para. [0053]), to enable the first wireless charging module and the second wireless charging module to present a plurality of postures by rotating (HE, Figs. 1-17; Paras. [0051] – [0054], “bent support state” and “laying support state”), and the third wireless charging module is rotationally connected to the first wireless charging module (HE, Fig. 17, Element 10b; Para. [0055], “support platform”), but does not teach the edges being beveled edges and rotating (axially as drawn in the figures of the instant application).
Lin, however, teaches wherein side edges of the first module (Lin, Fig. 1, Element 11; Col. 2, Lines 11-14) and the second module (Lin, Fig. 1, Element 21; Col. 2, Lines 11-14) are beveled edges (Lin, Fig. 1, Elements 11 and 21; Col. 2, Lines 11-14, “inclined plane”), and are connected through a rotating device (Lin, Fig. 1, Elements 11 and 21; Col. 2, Lines 11-56).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to understand that although HE is silent as to an optional connection of the charging modules by using rotating beveled edges, HE would inherently incorporate some type of conventional flexible connection methods commonly understood in the art. The connection method taught by Lin, for allowing a rotation of the modules to allow for different physical orientations to facilitate charging of multiple electronic devices simultaneously, teaches one of the many conventional connection methods utilized in the art for providing flexible secure connection of modules to orient in a preferred orientation. A person of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to choose based on desirability, cost and reliability factors, one of the many known conventional methods, such as the one taught by Lin, to provide an appropriate connection method for the charging modules of HE.
Regarding Claim 2, The combined teaching of the HE and Lin references discloses the claimed invention as stated above in claim 1. Furthermore, HE teaches wherein the first wireless charging module (HE, Fig. 10, Element 23; Paras. [0052]) and the second wireless charging module (HE, Fig. 10, Element 43; Paras. [0052]) rotate through the rotating device (HE, Fig. 10, Element 50; Paras. [0053]), to enable the first wireless charging module and the second wireless charging module to be located in a same plane or at a specific angle (HE, Figs. 1-17; Paras. [0051] – [0054], “bent support state” and “laying support state”), but does not teach axially rotating.
Furthermore, Lin teaches wherein the first module (Lin, Fig. 1, Element 11; Col. 2, Lines 11-14) and the second module (Lin, Fig. 1, Element 21; Col. 2, Lines 11-14) axially rotate along the beveled edges through the rotating device, to enable the first module and the second module to be located in a same plane or at a specific angle (Lin, Figs. 1 and 5, Elements 11 and 21; Col. 2, Lines 11-56).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to understand that although HE is silent as to an optional connection of the charging modules by using rotating beveled edges, HE would inherently incorporate some type of conventional flexible connection methods commonly understood in the art. The connection method taught by Lin, for allowing a rotation of the modules to allow for different physical orientations to facilitate charging of multiple electronic devices simultaneously, teaches one of the many conventional connection methods utilized in the art for providing flexible secure connection of modules to orient in a preferred orientation. A person of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to choose based on desirability, cost and reliability factors, one of the many known conventional methods, such as the one taught by Lin, to provide an appropriate connection method for the charging modules of HE.
Regarding Claim 3, The combined teaching of the HE and Lin references discloses the claimed invention as stated above in claims 2/1. Furthermore, HE teaches the rotating device (HE, Fig. 10, Element 50; Paras. [0053]) is located on the side edge of the first wireless charging module (HE, Fig. 10, Element 23; Paras. [0052]) or the second wireless charging module (HE, Fig. 10, Element 43; Paras. [0052]) to be in parallel or at a specific angle (HE, Figs. 1-17; Paras. [0051] – [0054], “bent support state” and “laying support state”).
Furthermore, Lin teaches wherein the rotating device comprises a rotary shaft (Lin, Figs. 1-3 and clearly seen in Fig. 5A but not labeled, Element 14; Col. 2, Lines 27-32, and Col. 3, Lines 23-24, “ball”), a rotary shaft fixing member (Lin, Figs. 1-3 and clearly seen in Fig. 5A but not labeled, Element 24; Col. 2, Lines 41-48, “spherical recess”), and limiting members (Lin, Figs. 1-2, Elements 16 and 27; Col. 2, Lines 31-49, and Col. 3, Lines 23-26 “semi-circular channel” and “runner”), the rotating device is located on the side edge of the first module or the second module, and the rotary shaft fixing member is connected to the rotary shaft, to enable the first module or the second module to rotate along the rotating device (Lin, Figs. 1-5; Col. 2, Line 4 through Col. 3, Line 26).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to understand that although HE is silent as to an optional connection of the charging modules by using rotating beveled edges, HE would inherently incorporate some type of conventional flexible connection methods commonly understood in the art. The connection method taught by Lin, for allowing a rotation of the modules to allow for different physical orientations to facilitate charging of multiple electronic devices simultaneously, teaches one of the many conventional connection methods utilized in the art for providing flexible secure connection of modules to orient in a preferred orientation. A person of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to choose based on desirability, cost and reliability factors, one of the many known conventional methods, such as the one taught by Lin, to provide an appropriate connection method for the charging modules of HE.
Regarding Claim 4, The combined teaching of the HE and Lin references discloses the claimed invention as stated above in claims 3/2/1. Furthermore, HE teaches the first wireless charging module (HE, Fig. 10, Element 23; Paras. [0052]) and the second wireless charging module (HE, Fig. 10, Element 43; Paras. [0052]) to be in parallel or at a specific angle (HE, Figs. 1-17; Paras. [0051] – [0054], “bent support state” and “laying support state”).
Furthermore, Lin teaches wherein the limiting member is used to limit a rotation angle of the rotary shaft, to enable the first module and the second module to be in parallel or at a specific angle (Lin, Figs. 1 and 5, Elements 11 and 21; Col. 2, Lines 11-56).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to understand that although HE is silent as to an optional connection of the charging modules by using rotating beveled edges, HE would inherently incorporate some type of conventional flexible connection methods commonly understood in the art. The connection method taught by Lin, for allowing a rotation of the modules to allow for different physical orientations to facilitate charging of multiple electronic devices simultaneously, teaches one of the many conventional connection methods utilized in the art for providing flexible secure connection of modules to orient in a preferred orientation. A person of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to choose based on desirability, cost and reliability factors, one of the many known conventional methods, such as the one taught by Lin, to provide an appropriate connection method for the charging modules of HE.
Regarding Claim 5, The combined teaching of the HE and Lin references discloses the claimed invention as stated above in claims 4/3/2/1. Furthermore, HE teaches the first wireless charging module (HE, Fig. 10, Element 23; Paras. [0052]) and second wireless charging module (HE, Fig. 10, Element 43; Paras. [0052]) is an acute angle less than 90° (HE, Fig. 17; Paras. [0079] – [0080]. Not specifically stated in the specification, but obvious from the drawings where the angle is fully adjustable.).
Furthermore, Lin teaches wherein an angular value of an inner angle of the beveled edges of the first module and second module is an acute angle less than 90° (Lin, Figs. 1-5. Where the angle is defined by the slope of the inclined plane.).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to understand that although HE is silent as to an optional connection of the charging modules by using rotating beveled edges, HE would inherently incorporate some type of conventional flexible connection methods commonly understood in the art. The connection method taught by Lin, for allowing a rotation of the modules to allow for different physical orientations to facilitate charging of multiple electronic devices simultaneously, teaches one of the many conventional connection methods utilized in the art for providing flexible secure connection of modules to orient in a preferred orientation. Furthermore, the angle of the two parts would be dependent on the slope of the inclined plane of the connection. Although not limited by Lin, it is obvious the angle would be dependent on the desired angles and would be a simple matter of using an appropriate incline. A person of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to choose based on desirability, cost and reliability factors, one of the many known conventional methods, such as the one taught by Lin, to provide an appropriate connection method for the charging modules of HE.
Regarding Claim 6, The combined teaching of the HE and Lin references discloses the claimed invention as stated above in claim 1. Furthermore, HE teaches wherein the third wireless charging module (HE, Fig. 10, Element 33, and Fig. 17, Element 10b; Paras. [0052]) and the second wireless charging module (HE, Fig. 10, Element 43, and Fig. 17, Element 10c; Paras. [0052]) are connected through a hinge or a shaft (HE, Fig. 10, Element 50; Para. [0053], and Fig. 17; Paras. [0056]).
Regarding Claim 7, The combined teaching of the HE and Lin references discloses the claimed invention as stated above in claims 6/1. Furthermore, HE teaches wherein the third wireless charging module is stowed in an accommodation groove of the second wireless charging module (HE, Fig. 10, Element 33, and Fig. 17, Element 10b; Paras. [0052]. Illustrated but not described in detail.).
Regarding Claim 8, The combined teaching of the HE and Lin references discloses the claimed invention as stated above in claims 6/1. Furthermore, HE teaches wherein a positional relationship between the third wireless charging module and the second wireless charging module may be replaced: the third wireless charging module and the second wireless charging module are located in a same plane (HE, Fig. 10, Element 33, and Fig. 17, Element 10b; Paras. [0052]. Illustrated but not described in detail.).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Du, Bing CN-113162158-A teaches a charging device to charge three devices simultaneously.
Yeom Dae Hyun KR-102530280-B1 teaches a charging device to charge three devices simultaneously.
AN, Zhong-yu CN-112886657-A teaches a charging device to charge multiple devices simultaneously with sloped support.
SUN, Jin-ming CN-117134458-A teaches a charging device to charge three devices simultaneously with sloped support.
HE, Shu-Wei CN-219975879 (Included to support HE U.S. PGPub 2024/0328569 effective filing date of 11/7/2023)
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JERRY D ROBBINS whose telephone number is (571)272-7585. The examiner can normally be reached 9:00AM - 6:00PM Tuesday-Saturday.
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.
/JERRY D ROBBINS/ Examiner, Art Unit 2859
Prosecution Insights