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 .
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 29 and 31-34 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Park et al. (US 2014/0327390, of record and hereinafter “Park”).
Claim 29: Park discloses a wireless electronics device (Figs.2-3A), comprising:
an antenna (100) configured to receive a radio frequency signal (see [0051]);
a frequency detection circuit (410, within 400; see Fig.5 and [0080]-[0081]) configured to detect whether the received radio frequency signal is in a first frequency range (within a WPC band) or in a second frequency range (within an NFC band; see step S1120 and [0054]), the first and second frequency ranges being non-overlapping (being of a high frequency NFC band versus a low frequency WPC band; see [0054] and [0056]);
a first communications circuit (322) configured to establish communications with the wireless charger according to a first communications profile of the first communications circuit (according to a WPC protocol; see step S1160 and [0059]) and to transmit a first return signal (charge state ID via the WPC protocol in step S1160) when the received radio frequency signal is detected to be in the first frequency range (following S1120=no, S1130=yes) and to establish electrical energy recuperation (S1141 wireless charging; see step S1140) from the received radio frequency signal according to a first protocol (WPC protocol); and
a second communications circuit (312) configured to establish communications with the wireless charging according to a second communications protocol of the second communications circuit (according to NFC protocol; see [0055]) and to transmit a second return signal (charge state ID via the NFC protocol in step S1160) when the received radio frequency signal is detected to be in the second frequency range (following S1120=yes, S1131=no; see [0059]) and to establish electrical energy recuperation (wireless charging; see step) from the received radio frequency signal according to a second protocol (NFC protocol).
Claim 31: Park discloses wherein the first frequency range is below the second frequency range, and an upper frequency limit of the first frequency range is lower than a lower frequency limit of the second frequency range ((the first frequency range being a “low frequency WPC band”, corresponding to approximately 125 kHz, which is less than 13 MHz, the second frequency range being a “high frequency band” corresponding to approximately 13.56MHz, which is higher than 300 kHz, the “limits” determining the high frequency and low frequency bands; see [0031]).
Claim 32: Park discloses wherein the frequency detection circuit comprises a frequency detector (410, Fig.5) configured to compare a frequency of the received radio frequency signal with a reference frequency generated by an oscillator (generated by “Control Clock” in Fig.5, compared via the counter and circuitry in 400 that determines whether the signal is a high frequency or low frequency signal; see [0081]) to determine whether the received radio frequency signal is in the first frequency range or the second frequency range (see [0081]).
Claim 33: Park discloses a power management circuit (313, 323) configured to recuperate the electrical energy from the received radio frequency signal and to supply the recuperated electrical energy to one or more circuits of the wireless electronics device (to the battery; see Fig.3A, [0038], [0046]).
Claim 34: Park discloses a matching circuit (210, 22) coupled to the antenna (100), wherein the power transfer according to the first protocol is in a higher power range than the power transfer according to the second protocol (WPC having a higher power range than NFC; see Wikipedia, “Qi (standard)” and NFC Forum, “Why Your Next Winning Product Will Use NFC Wireless Charging” for proof of inherency (of record), where WPC, i.e. either Qi or Ki versions provide powers of the tens of watts or more where NFC provides a maximum of 1W), and the antenna and matching circuit are tuned to a frequency corresponding to the second protocol (see [0036]).
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 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.
Claim 30 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Park in view of Wikipedia (“Qi (standard)”, of record).
Park discloses the limitations of claim 29, as well as the first protocol being a WPC wireless charging protocol and the second protocol being an NFC wireless charging protocol (see [0048] and [0057]-[0059]), as discussed above. While Park discloses the standard as a “WPC standard”, WPC as of the publication of the reference had two standards of Qi and Ki. Park does not explicitly disclose that the specific WPC standard discussed is the Qi standard. However, it is implied that the referenced WPC standard is Qi, as Park discloses that the wireless charging is within the context of a smartphone (see [0006]), whereas Ki is utilized for kitchen appliances. Further, Wikipedia (“Qi (standard)”, published on October 2022), discloses that the Qi standard is typically incorporated in smartphones, tablets, and other devices (see page 1). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the application to have provided the Qi standard specifically as the WPC standard disclosed by Park as a suitable standard that is implied by Park.
Claim 35 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Park in view of Mehas et al. (US 2021/0385114, of record and hereinafter “Mehas”).
Park discloses the limitations of claim 29, as discussed above. Park further discloses the first communications circuit comprises a first modulator (322_3) and a first demodulator, the first modulator and first demodulator being configured to implement wireless communications according to the first protocol (WPC protocol; see [0059]); and the second communications circuit comprises a second modulator (312_3) and a second demodulator (312_4), the second modulator and second demodulator being configured to implement wireless communications according to the second protocol (see [0059]), wherein the first protocol is a Qi wireless charging protocol (implied by “WPC” protocol within the context of a cellphone; see the discussion above) and the second protocol is an NFC (near field communications) wireless charging protocol (see [0048], [0055], [0059]). Park does not explicitly disclose that the first communications circuit also comprises “a first demodulator”. Mehas discloses that for a later version of the Qi standard ([0002], [0021]), the communication module may be provided with an ASK modulator circuit (306) in addition to an FSK demodulation circuit (314) in order to enable bidirectional communication for later version of the Qi standard (see [0002]). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the application to have provided a FSK modulation circuit in addition to an ASK modulator circuit of Park in order to have provided bidirectional communication for later versions of the Qi standard.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-11 and 14-26 are allowed.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: see paragraph 32 of the office action mailed 1/8/2026.
Response to Arguments
In light of the amendment filed 4/27/2026, the previous rejections of claims 1 and 25 under 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 have been withdrawn. Claims 1-11 and 14-26 are allowed.
Applicant's arguments filed 4/27/2026 with respect to new claims 29-35 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant broadly argues that the new claims are patentable over the prior art. The argument is not persuasive, as Park discloses providing the recited first and second communication circuits that establish a respective first and second communication protocol to communicate with the wireless charger based on the detected frequency range. See [0055] and [0059] of Park: “If the received electrical waves are electrical waves for NFC communication, the controller 400 acquires an NFC ID from the received electrical waves and activates the NFC communication modules 610 and 620 (S1180). The activated NFC communication modules 610 and 620 perform NFC communication according to an NFC standard protocol corresponding to the acquired NFC ID. … when the received electrical waves are HF, the receiving wireless charging apparatus transmits a wireless charging message to a transmitting wireless charging apparatus according to a high frequency protocol.”
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
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/RYAN JOHNSON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2836
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