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 .
Claims 1-20 are pending.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention. Regarding claim 7, the claim recites “a daisy chain socket is coupled to the housing of the mobile charging units, preferably at the opposite side of the housing side having the power supply cable.” The use of “preferably” does not make it clear whether Applicant intends the following limitation to be included in the claim. MPEP § 2173. As a result, one of ordinary skill in the art would not be able to discern the metes and bounds of the claim. It is unclear whether potential infringement would occur in an apparatus with the daisy chain oriented as in the first part, or whether the arrangement of the second part is also needed. The claim is indefinite. For the purposes of this examination, the Examiner will not give the “preferably” clause patentable weight.
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 1-7 and 17-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(a) as being anticipated by Jones, et al. (US 10,164,451, herein Jones).1 Regarding claims 1 and 17-18, Jones teaches a charging unit for charging a plurality of shopping carts including at least one electronic component, the mobile charging unit comprising: a housing made of robust material (Fig. 4: see housing of cart pusher 134), a plurality of wheels for moving the mobile charging unit (Fig. 4: the wheels on cart pusher 134), a power supply device inside the housing being configured to provide power for charging the electronic component of the plurality of shopping carts (column 5, lines 51-55), a power supply cable connected to the power supply device and configured to be connected to mains or to another mobile charging unit (column 5, lines 51-55), a daisy chain socket configured to receive a power supply cable of another mobile charging unit (column 6, lines 15-20), and a distributer being connected to the power supply device or to the daisy chain socket or to both for supplying power to the power supply device or to the daisy chain socket or to both (column 6, lines 8-15). Regarding claim 2, Jones teaches the power supply device is configured to be coupled with an external energy source and comprises at least one rechargeable battery or at least one charging device (column 5, lines 51-55). Regarding claim 3, Jones teaches a charge distribution unit comprising a plurality of ports, wherein each port is configured to be connected to the power supply device (column 6, lines 8-15). Regarding claim 4, Jones teaches at least one charging cable connected to the power supply device or to one of the plurality of ports for being connected with an interface unit at the shopping cart or with an energy storage unit of the shopping cart (column 4, lines 24-35). Regarding claim 5, Jones teaches a plurality of charging cables connected to the charge distribution unit or to the power supply device, or each one of the charging cables is configured to provide power from the charge distribution unit via one of the plurality of ports to a respective energy storage unit of one of the plurality of shopping carts (column 4, lines 24-35). Regarding claim 6, Jones teaches the power supply cable is configured for being connected with an external energy source for receiving power from the external energy source; or for being coupled with another mobile charging unit for supplying power from the mobile charging unit to the other mobile charging unit or for receiving power from the other mobile charging unit (column 4, lines 24-35). Regarding claim 7,2 Jones teaches a daisy chain socket is coupled to the housing of the mobile charging units (see orientation in Fig. 3), preferably at the opposite side of the housing side having the power supply cable. Regarding claim 19, Jones teaches the mobile charging unit and the terminal are configured to exchange data with each other via the charging cable or wirelessly (column 6, lines 9-13).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 8-16 and 20 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
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MATTHEW MIKELS whose telephone number is (571)270-5470. The examiner can normally be reached Monday to Thursday 7:30 AM ET - 5:00 PM ET, Friday 7:30 AM ET - 9:30 AM ET, the Examiner is on central time.3
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Thomas K Pham can be reached at 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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/MATTHEW MIKELS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2876
1 In addition to the cited portions, please see also the associated figures.
2 See 112 rejection above for the construction of this claim.
3 The Examiner can also be reached at matthew.mikels@uspto.gov.
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