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
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.
Claim(s) 1 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by CHEN (US 2019/0109484 A1, hereinafter CHEN).
Regarding claim 1, CHEN discloses a terminal charging system, comprising:
a terminal (See Fig.2, Item#100) including a first signal ground interface configured to be connected to a signal ground of the terminal (See Fig.2, discloses Terminal 100 comprising a signal ground interface of the terminal; labeled “GND” , the signal ground interface “GND” is connected to a signal ground of the terminal);
a cable including a second signal ground interface adapted to the first signal ground interface (See Fig.2, discloses a cable 300 including a ground signal ground interface L2); and
a charger which charges the terminal through the cable (See Fig.2, discloses a charger 200);
wherein when the terminal is charged, one end of the cable is connected to a power ground of the charger, and the other end of the cable is connected to the signal ground of the terminal through the second signal ground interface and the first signal ground interface (See Fig.2, discloses cable 300 ground wire L2 connecting signal ground of terminal 100 to power ground “GND” of charger 200).
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.
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.
Claim(s) 2-4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over CHEN in view of KITANOSAKO (US 11,023,030 B2, hereinafter KOTANOSAKO).
Regarding claim 2, CHEN discloses the terminal charging system of claim 1 as discussed above, the first signal ground interface is configured by a ground pin GND (See claim 1 rejection, the first signal ground interface is the GND pin).
However, CHEN does not disclose the first signal ground interface is configured by a pair of Ground (GND) pins located at symmetrical positions of the USB Type-C defined interface.
KITANOSAKI discloses a charging interface comprising a USB-C interface, comprising a pair of GROUND (GND) pins located at symmetrical positions of the USB Type-C defined interface (See Fig.1, Item#101 and Col.1, lines 42-55, disclose a USB type-C cable on both ends to connect to the charger and the terminal. It is well known that a USB type-C contains a pair of GROUND (GND) pins located at symmetrical positions of the USB Type-C defined interface).
CHEN and KITANOSAKI are analogous art since they both deal with terminal charging.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the invention disclosed by CHEN with the teachings of KITANOSAKI by using a USB type-C interface comprising a pair of Ground pins (GND) at symmetrical positions of the USB Type-C defined interface for the benefit of providing a reversable connector that is easy for the user to plug in without the need for ensuring a specific orientation.
Regarding claim 3, CHEN and KITANOSAKI disclose the terminal charging system of claim 1 as discussed above, wherein the terminal further comprises a first switch having one side connected to the signal ground of the terminal and the other side connected to a power ground of the terminal (See CHEN and Par.40 discloses data pin D+ is connected to ground via switch K2).
Regarding claim 4, CHEN and KITANOSAKI disclose the terminal charging system of claim 3 as discussed above, wherein the terminal further comprises a first control module connected to the first switch and configured to control on and off of the first switch (See Par.40 and Fig.2, disclose the processor 12 controls the switch K2 to connect the D+ to ground).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5-12 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.
The prior art does not disclose “…the cable further comprises two second switches provided at two ends of the cable, respectively, one of the second switches is connected to the power ground of the charger, and the other second switch is connected to the power ground of the terminal.” Dependent claims 6-12 are also allowed.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to AHMED H OMAR whose telephone number is (571)270-7165. The examiner can normally be reached 10:00 am -7:00 PM EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Drew 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.
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/AHMED H OMAR/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2859
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