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 .
Status of Application
Claims 1-10 are pending and have been examined in this application. This communication is the first action on the merits. The Information Disclosure Statement (IDS) filed on 12/11/2023 has been considered by the Examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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.
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, 3-7 & 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US Patent Publication Number 2021/0267098 A1 to Wippler.
A) As per Claim 1, Wippler teaches an electronic device cooling system of a vehicle (Wippler: Figure 1), the electronic device cooling system comprising:
a receptacle (Wippler: Figure 3, Item 302) fluidly coupled to a dedicated climate zone, the receptacle comprising at least one sensor (Wippler: Paragraph 0031; Item 206 present in all embodiments); and
an electronic control unit communicatively coupled to an electronic device and the at least one sensor, wherein, upon receiving a signal from the at least one sensor that a temperature of the electronic device exceeds a first threshold temperature (Wippler: Figure 5, Item 504), the electronic control unit:
transmits a notification to the electronic device relating to the temperature (Wippler: Paragraph 0038); and
directs cooling air, via the dedicated climate zone, to the receptacle (Wippler: Figure 5, Item 508).
B) As per Claim 3, Wippler teaches that the electronic control unit further transmits the notification via a vehicle head unit (Wippler: Paragraph 0038).
C) As per Claim 4, Wippler teaches that the electronic control unit further transmits the notification via one or more speakers (Wippler: Paragraph 0038).
D) As per Claim 5, Wippler teaches that the electronic control unit controls at least one fan to decrease air-flow to the receptacle when an electronic device temperature is below a second threshold temperature, wherein the second threshold temperature is less than the first threshold temperature (Wippler: Figure 5, Item 514 & 518).
E) As per Claim 6, Wippler teaches that the receptacle comprises a wireless charging pad (Wippler: Figure 3, Item 108) and at least one fan (Wippler: Figure 5, Item 508) configured to cool the wireless charging pad.
F) As per Claim 7, Wippler teaches that the at least one sensor comprises a temperature sensor (Wippler: Paragraph 0031; Item 206 present in all embodiments).
G) As per Claim 10, Wippler teaches that the receptacle is integrated into a vehicle dashboard (Wippler: best shown in Figure 3).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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.
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(s) 2 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wippler in view of US Patent Publication Number 2024/0326556 A1 to Salter.
A) As per Claim 2, Wippler teaches all the limitations except explicitly that the notification further provides instructions to a user to insert the electronic device into the receptacle.
However, Salter teaches a notification further provides instructions to a user to insert the electronic device into the receptacle (Salter: Paragraph 0048).
At the time the invention was effectively filed, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art to have modified the teachings of Wippler by providing instructions to the user, as taught by Salter, with a reasonable expectation of success of arriving at the claimed invention. At the time the invention was effectively filed, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have modified Wippler with these aforementioned teachings of Salter with the motivation of ensuring that the device is placed properly within the receptacle.
Claim(s) 8-9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wippler in view of US Patent Number 11,329,497 B2 to Wippler, hereafter referred to as Wippler[497].
A) As per Claim 8, Wippler teaches all the limitations except that the at least one sensor comprises an optical sensor.
However, Wippler[497] teaches at least one sensor comprises an optical sensor (Wippler[497]: Claim 6).
At the time the invention was effectively filed, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art to have modified the teachings of Wippler by adding an optical sensor, as taught by Wippler[497], with a reasonable expectation of success of arriving at the claimed invention. At the time the invention was effectively filed, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have modified Wippler with these aforementioned teachings of Wippler[497] with the motivation of being able to sense if the device is placed within the receptacle or not.
B) As per Claim 9, Wippler teaches all the limitations except that the at least one sensor comprises a force sensor.
However, Wippler[497] teaches at least one sensor comprises a force sensor (Wippler[497]: Claim 6).
At the time the invention was effectively filed, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art to have modified the teachings of Wippler by adding a force sensor, as taught by Wippler[497], with a reasonable expectation of success of arriving at the claimed invention. At the time the invention was effectively filed, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have modified Wippler with these aforementioned teachings of Wippler[497] with the motivation of being able to sense if the device is placed within the receptacle or not.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ALLEN SCHULT whose telephone number is (571)272-8511. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9AM-5PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, STEVE MCALLISTER can be reached at 571-272-6785. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Allen R. B. Schult/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3762
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