DETAILED ACTION
Summary
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
This is a first Office Action on the merits.
Claims 1-14 are currently pending.
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.
Claim(s) 1, 2, 5, 8, 9, 13, and 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by DESAI et al, US 2017/0040831.
Re claim 1:
DESAI teaches a receiver circuitry for receiving power through wireless power transfer, said receiver circuitry comprising:
A power receiver configured to receive a power signal from a wireless power transmitter and generate an alternating current (AC) input signal (i.e., inductive element 80 [0067] [Figure 6]);
A converter circuit configured to receive the AC input signal and to convert the AC input signal to a direct current (DC) output signal (i.e., rectifier 81 and DC-DC converter 85 form a converter circuit [0069]-[0071] [Figure 6]);
A control unit configured to control at least one parameter of the converter circuit for controlling efficiency of power transfer (i.e., controller 86 [0069]-[0071] [Figure 6]);
A detector configured to generate a measurement signal representing available power of the AC input signal (i.e., current sensor 87 in conjunction with peak detector 88 [0069] [Figure 6]);
Wherein the control unit is configured to receive the measurement signal from the detector and to control the at least one parameter based on the measurement signal for feedforward control of the at least one parameter (i.e., processor 92 receives output of the peak detector and is configured to provide feed forward control of the duty cycle of the DC-DC converter [0069]-[0071]).
Re claim 2:
DESAI discloses the receiver circuitry according to claim 2, wherein the detector is a peak detector configured to detect an amplitude of the AC input signal for the power receiver being unloaded, whereby the measurement signal represents the amplitude of the AC input signal [0069].
Re claim 5:
DESAI discloses the receiver circuitry according to claim 1, wherein the control unit is configured to store a conversion rule for converting a value of the measurement signal to a control signal for controlling a value of the at least one parameter (implicit [0070] [0071]).
Re claim 8:
DESAI discloses the receiver circuitry according to claim 1, wherein the converter circuit comprises a rectifier circuit (81), configured to receive the AC input signal and to convert the AC input signal to a DC input signal, and a DC-DC converter circuit (85) configured to convert the DC input signal to the DC output signal, wherein the control unit is configured to control more than one parameter of the rectifier circuit and/or the DC-DC converter circuit [0056] [0069]-[0071] [Figure 6].
Re claim 9:
DESAI discloses the receiver circuitry according to claim 8, wherein the rectifier circuit comprises a comparator configured to drive a switch [0068].
Re claim 13:
DESAI discloses an implant device comprising the receiver circuitry according to claim 1, wherein the implant device is configured to be implanted in a body and configured to receive power through wireless power transfer [0072].
Re claim 14:
DESAI discloses a method for receiving power through wireless power transfer, said method comprising:
Receiving a power signal from a wireless power transmitter [0067];
Generating an alternating current (AC) input signal based on the power signal [0067] [0068];
Measuring the AC input signal to generate a measurement signal representing available power of the AC input signal [0069];
Controlling at least one parameter based on the measurement signal for feedforward control of the at least one parameter, wherein the at least one parameter is at least one parameter of a converter circuit, configured to receive the AC input signal and to convert the AC input signal to a direct current (DC) output signal [0069]-[0071].
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.
Claim(s) 3 and 4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over DESAI et al, US 2017/0040831.
Re claim 3:
DESAI discloses the receiver circuitry according to claim 2, but does not specify the detector comprises an active peak detector; however, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art for the peak detector of DESAI to be an active peak detector. Active peak detectors are merely one common type of peak detector that provides higher accuracy than passive peak detectors.
Re claim 4:
DESAI discloses the receiver circuitry according to claim 2, but does not specify the detector comprises a passive peak detector; however, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date for the peak detector of DESAI to be a passive peak detector. Passive peak detectors are merely one common type of peak detector that is known to provide simple and low-cost detection that do not require connection to a power source.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 6, 7, and 10-12 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.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
SMITH et al, US 2013/0310630, teaches a method and system for powering implantable devices.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LAURA A GUDORF whose telephone number is (571)270-7607. If the Examiner cannot be reached by telephone, she can be reached through the following e-mail address: laura.gudorf@uspto.gov. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F 6:00-4:00 PM.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Thomas Pham, can be reached at telephone number (571)272-3689. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/LAURA A GUDORF/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2876
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