CTNF 18/460,037 CTNF 81993 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. The instant application with Application Number 18/460,037 filed on 09/16/2022 is presented for examination. As per the remarks of 09/01/2023, a preliminary amendments has been submitted making minor changes to the specification. Claims 1-12 are pending. Information Disclosure Statment The Information Disclosure Statement dated 09/01/2023 is acknowledged and the cited references have been considered in this examination. Priority 02-26 AIA Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers submitted under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d), which papers have been placed of record in the file. Double Patenting 08-33 AIA The non-statutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A non-statutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg , 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman , 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi , 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum , 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel , 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington , 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969). A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on non-statutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP § 2146 et seq. for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA. A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b). The filing of a terminal disclaimer by itself is not a complete reply to a non-statutory double patenting (NSDP) rejection. A complete reply requires that the terminal disclaimer be accompanied by a reply requesting reconsideration of the prior Office action. Even where the NSDP rejection is provisional the reply must be complete. See MPEP § 804, subsection I.B.1. For a reply to a non-final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.111(a). For a reply to final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.113(c). A request for reconsideration while not provided for in 37 CFR 1.113(c) may be filed after final for consideration. See MPEP §§ 706.07(e) and 714.13. The USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The actual filing date of the application in which the form is filed determines what form (e.g., PTO/SB/25, PTO/SB/26, PTO/AIA/25, or PTO/AIA/26) should be used. A web-based eTerminal Disclaimer may be filled out completely online using web-screens. An eTerminal Disclaimer that meets all requirements is auto-processed and approved immediately upon submission. For more information about eTerminal Disclaimers, refer to www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/applying-online/eterminal-disclaimer. 08-35 Claim 1 provisionally rejected on the ground of non-statutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claim 1 of co-pending Application No. 18/460,400 (reference application). Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because they both deal with a power transmitting/receiving apparatus comprising: a power transmitting/receiving unit configured to wirelessly transmit/receive power to a power receiving apparatus . This is a provisional non-statutory double patenting rejection because the patentably indistinct claims have not in fact been patented. Claim 1 of the instant app.no 18/460, 037 Claim 1 of the co-pending app.no 18/460, 400 A power transmitting apparatus comprising: a power transmitting unit configured to wirelessly transmit power to a power receiving apparatus; and a communication unit configured to communicate with the power receiving apparatus, the communication unit transmitting, to the power receiving apparatus, a signal to request a change in a degree of modulation of a load modulation signal, which is received from the power receiving apparatus, in accordance with an amplitude of the load modulation signal. microprocesso r A power receiving apparatus comprising: a power receiving unit configured to wirelessly receive power from a power transmitting apparatus; and a communication unit configured to communicate with the power transmitting apparatus by load modulation of the received power, a degree of modulation of the load modulation by the communication unit being changed in a case where a response signal from the power transmitting apparatus in response to a specific signal transmitted by the communication unit is not received within a period. Claims 2-10 are dependents on rejected claim 1 above; hence rejected the same. Instant claim 11 is also provisionally rejected on the ground of non-statutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claim 12 of the co-pending Application No. 18/460,400 (reference application). Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because they both deal with a power transmitting/receiving apparatus comprising: a communication method for a power transmitting apparatus, comprising: wirelessly transmitting power to a power receiving apparatus; and transmitting, to the power receiving apparatus. This is a provisional non-statutory double patenting rejection because the patentably indistinct claims have not in fact been patented. Claim 11 of the instant app.no 18/460, 037 Claim 12 of the co-pending app.no 18/460,400 A communication method for a power transmitting apparatus, comprising: wirelessly transmitting power to a power receiving apparatus; and transmitting, to the power receiving apparatus, a signal to request a change in a degree of modulation of a load modulation signal, which is received from the power receiving apparatus , in accordance with an amplitude of the load modulation signal. A communication method for a power receiving apparatus, comprising: wirelessly receiving power from a power transmitting apparatus; and transmitting a specific signal to the power transmitting apparatus by load modulation of the received power, wherein a degree of modulation of the load modulation is changed in a case where a response signal from the power transmitting apparatus in response to the specific signal is not received within a period. Instant claim 12 is al so provisionally rejected on the ground of non-statutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claim 13 of the co-pending Application No. 18/460,400 (reference application). Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because they both deal with a power transmitting/receiving apparatus comprising: a communication method for a power transmitting apparatus, comprising: wirelessly transmitting power to a power receiving apparatus; and transmitting, to the power receiving apparatus. This is a provisional non-statutory double patenting rejection because the patentably indistinct claims have not in fact been patented. Claim 12 of the instant app.no 18/460, 037 Claim 13 of the co-pending app.no 18/460,400 A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a program for causing a computer to execute a communication method for a power transmitting apparatus comprising: wirelessly transmitting power to a power receiving apparatus; and transmitting, to the power receiving apparatus, a signal to request a change in a degree of modulation of a load modulation signal, which is received from the power receiving apparatus, in accordance with an amplitude of the load modulation signal. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a program for causing a computer to execute a communication method for a power receiving apparatus, comprising: wirelessly receiving power from a power transmitting apparatus; and transmitting a specific signal to the power transmitting apparatus by load modulation of the received power, wherein a degree of modulation of the load modulation is changed in a case where a response signal from the power transmitting apparatus in response to the specific signal is not received within a period. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 07-06 AIA 15-10-15 In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status. 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA. 07-20-aia AIA 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. 07-23-fti The factual inquiries set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co. , 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied for establishing a background for determining obviousness under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) are summarized as follows: 1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art. 2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue. 3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art. 4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness. 07-20-02-aia AIA This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention. 07-21-aia AIA Claim s 1-3, 11 and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Uchida (US 2012/0001485) in view of Marcu et al. (US 2013/0109304)(Hereinafter, Marcu) . With respect to claims 1, 11 and 12, Uchida discloses a power transmitting apparatus/method (See Reproduced drawing; Fig.1, 1) comprising: a power transmitting unit (Fig. 1, 10) configured to wirelessly transmit power to a power receiving apparatus (Para. # 0024) ; and a communication unit configured to communicate with the power receiving apparatus (Fig. 1, 14; Para. # 0025 and 0029) , the communication unit transmitting, to the power receiving apparatus (Para. # 0025) , a signal to request a change in a degree of modulation of a load modulation signal (Para. # 0029: the power transmission control unit 13 also performs variable control with respect to an alternating current frequency generated at the oscillator circuit 11 so as to match the alternating current frequency with any one of the resonant frequencies f1 to f3. Therefore, a resonant state of the power transmitting coil Ct is changed in accordance with the different resonant frequencies f1 to f3 (Power signal modulation, as it’s a process of encoding information from a power signal varying one of its properties, such as frequency)) , PNG media_image1.png 665 740 media_image1.png Greyscale which is received from the power receiving apparatus (Para. # 0037: In response to the charge request, the communication unit 24 sends a power transmission request to the communication unit 14 of the wireless power transmitting device 1). Uchida, does not expressly disclose that the modulation signal is an amplitude of the load modulation. Marcu, on the other hand, discloses that the modulation signal is an amplitude of the load modulation (Para. # 0040: the amplitude of the received input signal to a maximum threshold amplitude). PNG media_image2.png 620 491 media_image2.png Greyscale PNG media_image3.png 604 421 media_image3.png Greyscale UCHIDA and Marcu are analogous art because they are from the same field of endeavor namely wearable device and portable electronic device. It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person of ordinary skill in the art to have added amplitude load modulation of the power signal modulation to wireless power transmitting/receiving device of Uchida in view of Marcu for the benefit of adaptively adjusting load modulation depth to maximize power harvesting without compromising signal resolution (Para. # 0034 and 0035) . The use of programmable load modulation elements like current DACs enables fine control and calibration of modulation depth, improving operational efficiency and robustness (Para. # 0037) . With respect to claims 2, the combined references of Uchida and Marcu disclose the power transmitting apparatus as described above, Marcu further discloses wherein, in a case where the amplitude of the load modulation signal is smaller than a threshold value, a signal to request a change in the degree of modulation to increase the amplitude of the load modulation signal is transmitted to the power receiving apparatus (Para. # 0041: include measuring an amplitude of a received input signal (depicted by numeral 452). Method 450 may also include comparing the amplitude of the received input signal to a maximum threshold amplitude) . With respect to claims 3 the combined references of Uchida and Marcu disclose the power transmitting apparatus as described above, Marcu further discloses wherein the degree of modulation of the load modulation signal is represented based on a difference between a maximum value and a minimum value of the load modulation signal received by the communication unit (Para. # 0040-0041: comparing the amplitude of the received input signal to a maximum threshold amplitude (depicted by numeral 454). Further, method 450 adjusting an attenuation ratio of an attenuator in response to comparing the amplitude) . 07-21-aia AIA Claim s 4-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Uchida and Marcu further in view of Mashimo (US 2020/0343772) . With respect to claim 4 , the combined references of Uchida and Marcu disclose the power transmitting apparatus as described above, but not disclose further comprising an object detecting unit configured to perform detection processing for detecting a foreign object in accordance with the amplitude of the load modulation signal which is received from the power receiving apparatus. Mashimo, however, discloses the power transmitting apparatus comprising an object detecting unit (see Fig. 1, 108) configured to perform detection processing for detecting a foreign object (Para. # 0022: the TX 100 recognizes that the object detected in the Selection phase is the RX 200 by receiving a response from the RX 200 that has received the Digital Ping). It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person of ordinary skill in the art to have added object detecting unit in a power transmitting apparatus in view of Mashimo for the benefit of making decision to stop power transmission when detection of an object (foreign object) different from the power reception target so that the action or operation of power transmission halted to save power and avoid transmission to a wrong target (Para. # 0058: stop of power transmission is requested when detection of an object different from the power reception apparatus). With respect to claim 5 , the combined references of Uchida, Marcu and Mashimo disclose the power transmitting apparatus as described above, further Mashimo discloses comprising a position detecting unit configured to perform detection processing for detecting a position of the power receiving apparatus, wherein the power transmitting unit transmits the power by using a power transmitting coil corresponding to the position of the power receiving apparatus detected by the position detecting unit (Para. # 0019: when the GP is 5 W, even if the power transmission efficiency is lowered by a change of the positional relationship between the power reception coil 205 and the power transmission coil 105, the TX 100 controls the power transmission coil 105 to transmit power, so that power of 5 W can be output to the load). With respect to claim 6 , the combined references of Uchida, Marcu and Mashimo disclose the power transmitting apparatus as described above, further Mashimo discloses wherein the power transmitting coil is one or more of a plurality of coils or a moving coil whose position is changeable (Para. # 0021/0019 and 0027: power transmission/reception control by the communication compliant with the WPC standard (hereinafter, called as “first communication”), in which a signal is superimposed on the transmission power using the antennas or the coils the same as those used for wireless power transfer, and power transmission/reception control by the communication compliant with the WPC standard (hereinafter, called as “first communication”), in which a signal is superimposed on the transmission power using the antennas or the coils the same as those used for wireless power transfer) . With respect to claim 7 , the combined references of Uchida, Marcu and Mashimo disclose the power transmitting apparatus as described above, further Mashimo discloses wherein, after a start of wireless power transmission using the power transmitting coil corresponding to the detected position of the power receiving apparatus, a signal to request a change in the degree of modulation to decrease the amplitude of the load modulation signal is transmitted to the power receiving apparatus (Para. # 0041 and 0055-0056: the communication unit 104 may have a modulation/demodulation circuit; he communication unit 206 demodulates the electromagnetic wave received from the power reception coil 205 to acquire the information transmitted from the TX 100, executes load modulation of the electromagnetic wave) . With respect to claim 8 , the combined references of Uchida, Marcu and Mashimo disclose the power transmitting apparatus as described above, further Mashimo discloses wherein the signal is a frequency-modulated signal (Para. # 0038 and 0041) . With respect to claim 9 , the combined references of Uchida, Marcu and Mashimo disclose the power transmitting apparatus as described above, further Mashimo discloses comprising: a wheel; and a battery, wherein the power transmitting unit wirelessly transmits the power to the power receiving apparatus by using power from the battery (Para. # 0052-0053: the battery 203 supplies power necessary for the control unit 201 to control each of the units of the RX 200 and to execute power reception and communication. The battery 203 is charged with power received by the charging unit 202 via the power reception coil 205) . 07-21-aia AIA Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Uchida, Marcu, Mashimo and further in view of Partovi (US 2013/0285605) . With respect to claim 10 , the combined references of Uchida, Marcu and Mashimo disclose the power transmitting apparatus as described above, but do not disclose wherein the power transmitting apparatus is installed in a vehicle. Partovi, however, discloses the power transmitting apparatus is installed in a vehicle (Para. # 0048,0060: inductive or magnetic charging and power, and wireless powering or charging of, e.g., mobile, electronic, electric, lighting, batteries, power tools, kitchen, military, medical or dental, industrial applications, vehicles, automobiles, electric bicycles and motorcycles, Segway type of devices, trains or other transport vehicles or devices or products) . It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person of ordinary skill in the art to have added or used the power transmitting apparatus installed in a vehicle for the benefit that a car or other vehicle or transport system such as trains, airplanes, etc., and when a valid receiver and/or an NFC, RFID or other ID mechanism integrated into or on a mobile device, its case or skin, dongle or battery is found, the charger can activate some other functions such as Bluetooth or WiFi connectivity to the device, displaying the device identity or its status or state of charge on a display (Para. # 0095). Contact Information Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to YALKEW FANTU whose telephone number is (571)272-8928. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 7:00AM-4:00PM. 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, DREW A DUNN can be reached at 571-272-2312. 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. /YALKEW FANTU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2859
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