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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see response, filed 04 May 2026, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of Bean et al. (US 2004/0036449 A1).
Applicant’s arguments with respect to the 35 USC 112(f) interpretations of the claims have also been considered and are persuasive. As amended, the claims do not invoke 35 USC 112(f).
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.
Claim(s) 1, 3, 9, 11 and 17-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bean et al. (US 2004/0036449 A1) in view of Xu et al. (US 2013/0093514 A1).[claim 1]
Regarding claim 1, Bean discloses a powering device for image acquisition, comprising:
an energy storage circuit connected to a power supply and configured to store electric energy of the power supply (Figure 1, 110; Figure 2); and
an image acquisition apparatus connected to the energy storage circuit and configured to use the electric energy stored in the energy storage circuit for powering during image acquisition (Figure 1, 130; Paragraph 0030), wherein,
the image acquisition apparatus comprises a camera (Paragraph 0030),
the power supply is configured to power circuit components other than the image acquisition apparatus during image acquisition (Figure 1, 120/140/150; Paragraph 0020)),
the energy storage circuit comprises:
an energy storage capacitor configured to store the electric energy of the power supply in the energy storage capacitor (Figure 2, 112; Paragraph 0021, 0033-0034).
However, Bean does not disclose that the energy storage circuit further comprises a first filter capacitor arranged in parallel with the energy storage capacitor and configured to filter out AC electricity.
Xu discloses a similar powering device for image acquisition (Figures 7 and 12), comprising: an energy storage circuit connected to a power supply and configured to store electric energy of the power supply (Figure 7, 208; Figure 12, 424);
wherein, the energy storage circuit comprises: an energy storage capacitor configured to store the electric energy of the power supply in the energy storage capacitor (Paragraph 0026; one of the capacitors of the two or more capacitors storing energy supplied by buck-boost converter 210), and
the energy storage circuit further comprises a first filter capacitor arranged in parallel with the energy storage capacitor and configured to filter out AC electricity (Paragraph 0026; a second capacitor of the two or more capacitors connected in parallel).
While Xu does not explicitly describe filtering out AC electricity with the second capacitor, the capacitor would share the same arrangement as the capacitors described in the specification (i.e. arranged in parallel with the storage capacitor between an output node of the converter 210 and ground (see Figure 7 of Xu and Figure 1D of the specification) and thus would provide some degree of filtering of AC present at the output node due to the common arrangement. See MPEP 2112.01(I):
Where the claimed and prior art products are identical or substantially identical in structure or composition, or are produced by identical or substantially identical processes, a prima facie case of either anticipation or obviousness has been established. In re Best, 562 F.2d 1252, 1255, 195 USPQ 430, 433 (CCPA 1977). "When the PTO shows a sound basis for believing that the products of the applicant and the prior art are the same, the applicant has the burden of showing that they are not." In re Spada, 911 F.2d 705, 709, 15 USPQ2d 1655, 1658 (Fed. Cir. 1990).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to include a first filter capacitor arranged in parallel with the ultracapacitor of Bean to increase capacitance and so that AC electricity may be filtered out.
[claim 3]
Regarding claim 3, Bean discloses a power converter which may be a DC-DC converter (Figure 2, 116) to convert an input DC voltage into a DC output voltage suitable for energizing the ultracapacitor (Paragraph 0036) and a power conditioner which may be a DC-DC converter (Figure 2, 114) to convert the stored DC voltage into a DC output suitable for powering the electronics 102 (Paragraph 0024-0025). However, Bean does not explicitly disclose a boost circuit and a buck circuit configured as claimed.
Xu discloses a powering device wherein the energy storage circuit further comprises: a boost circuit connected between the power supply and the energy storage capacitor, and configured to increase a voltage of the power supply to a first voltage and store the electric energy of the first voltage in the energy storage capacitor (Figure 12, 420); and a buck circuit connected between the energy storage capacitor and the image acquisition apparatus, and configured to reduce the electric energy of the first voltage stored in the energy storage capacitor to a second voltage, and provide the electric energy of the second voltage to the image acquisition apparatus (Figure 12, 422). See also Paragraph 0051.
The choice of a boost and buck converter allows a DC voltage to be stepped up for storage and stepped down for powering thereby allowing for a higher quantity of power to be stored in the capacitor while providing a suitable power voltage for image acquisition.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to provide a boost converter in power converter 116 and a buck converter in power conditioner 114 so that a high quantity of power may be stored in the ultracapacitor while providing a suitable voltage for image acquisition. [claims 9 and 11]
Regarding claims 9 and 11, see the rejection of claims 1 and 3 above and note that Bean in view of Xu discloses electronic equipment comprising a power supply (e.g. Bean; Figure 1) and the powering device for image acquisition connected to the power supply (see the rejections above).[claims 17 and 18]
Claims 17 and 18 are method claims corresponding to apparatus claims 1 and 2. Therefore, claims 17 and 18 are analyzed and rejected as previously discussed with respect to claims 1 and 2.[claims 19 and 20]
Claims 19 and 20 are method claims corresponding to apparatus claim 3. Therefore, claims 19 and 20 are analyzed and rejected as previously discussed with respect to claim 3.
Claim(s) 4-6 and 12-14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bean et al. (US 2004/0036449 A1) in view of Xu et al. (US 2013/0093514 A1) in view of Texas Instruments – LM1577/LM2577 SIMPLE SWITCHER® Step-Up Voltage Regulator, hereinafter LM1577[claim 4]
Regarding claim 4, Bean in view of Xu does not explicitly disclose wherein the boost circuit comprises: a boost inductor connected between the power supply and the energy storage capacitor, and configured to increase a voltage of the power supply; and a boost control chip arranged in parallel with the boost inductor, and configured to set the first voltage and control the boost inductor to increase the voltage of the power supply to the first voltage before charging the energy storage capacitor, wherein a voltage of the energy storage capacitor after charging is the first voltage.
LM1577discloses a boost circuit which is cost effective, simply to use and may provide a fixed or adjustable output voltage (p. 1, DESCRIPTION). The boost converter of TO includes a boost inductor connected between an input and an output, and configured to increase a voltage of the power supply (p. 2, Typical Application, 100uF inductor); and a boost control chip arranged in parallel with the boost inductor, and configured to set the first voltage and control the boost inductor to increase the voltage of the power supply to the first voltage (p. 2, Typical Application, LM2577). Therefore, it would have been obvious to use a boost circuit as taught by LM1577to provide a boost of the voltage between the power supply and the storage capacitor in a cost effective and simple to use manner and so that the voltage provided to the storage capacitor may be boosted from the power supply voltage.
Note that the combined system of Bean in view of Xu and LM1577 would have the claimed features of claim 4.[claim 5]
Regarding claim 5, Bean in view of Xu in view of LM1577discloses wherein the boost circuit further comprises: a rectifier diode connected between the boost inductor and the energy storage capacitor, and configured to rectify the boosted current (TI, p. 2, Typical Application, diode 1N5821).[claim 6]
Regarding claim 6, Bean in view of Xu in view of LM1577discloses a boost feedback circuit, wherein an output terminal of the rectifier diode is connected to a first voltage feedback interface of the boost control chip through the boost feedback circuit wherein the boost feedback circuit is configured to feed back the voltage rectified by the rectifier diode to the boost control chip, to cause the boost control chip to control an operation of the boost inductor based on the fed back rectified voltage (TI, p. 2, Typical Application, circuit formed by R1 and R2 connected to output of diode and FEED-BACK input of LM2577-ADJ).[claims 12-14]
Regarding claims 12-14, see the rejection of claim 11 as well as the rejection of claims 4-6 above respectively.
Claim(s) 7, 8, 15 and 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bean et al. (US 2004/0036449 A1) in view of Xu et al. (US 2013/0093514 A1) in view of Texas Instruments – LM5163-Q1 100-V Input, 0.5-A Synchronous Buck DC/DC Converter with Ultra-low IQ, hereinafter LM5163.[claim 7]
Regarding claim 7, Bean in view of Xu does not explicitly disclose wherein the buck circuit comprises: a buck control chip connected to the energy storage capacitor, and configured to set the second voltage; and a buck inductor connected between the buck control chip and the image acquisition apparatus, and configured to reduce the first voltage of the energy storage capacitor to the second voltage according to the control of the buck control chip, and provide the electric energy of the second voltage to the image acquisition apparatus.
LM5163 discloses a buck circuit with a reduced solution size and cost among other features (p. 1, Features and Description). The buck circuit of LM5163 comprises: a buck control chip connected to an input, and configured to set a second voltage (p. 1, Typical Application, LM5163-Q1); and a buck inductor connected between the buck control chip and an output, and configured to reduce the first voltage of the input to the second voltage according to the control of the buck control chip, and provide the electric energy of the second voltage to output (p. 1, Typical Application, Lo 120uH). Therefore, it would have been obvious to use a buck circuit as taught by LM5163 to provide an output voltage using a circuit having reduce solution size and cost among other benefits.
Note that the combined system of Bean in view of Xu and LM5163 would have the claimed features of claim 7.[claim 8]
Regarding claim 8, Bean in view of Xu in view of LM in view of LM5163 discloses wherein the buck circuit further comprises: a buck feedback circuit, wherein an output end of the buck inductor is connected to a second voltage feedback interface of the buck control chip through the buck feedback circuit (LM5163, p. 1, Typical Application, output of inductor connected to RFB1 and RFB2 and FB input of LM5163-Q1); wherein the buck feedback circuit is configured to feed back the voltage bucked by the buck inductor to the buck control chip, to cause the buck control chip to control an operation of the buck inductor based on the fed back bucked voltage (p. 1, Typical Application, see also 7.2 Functional Block Diagram and FEEDBACK COMPARATOR).[claims 15 and 16]
Regarding claims 15 and 16, see the rejection of claim 11 as well as the rejection of claims 7 and 8 above respectively.
Alternatively, claim(s) 1, 3, 9, 11 and 17-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bean et al. (US 2004/0036449 A1) in view of Xu et al. (US 2013/0093514 A1) in view of Abou-Alfotouh et al. (US 2010/0164650 A1).
Note that Xu appears to disclose an identical arrangement of a two capacitors in parallel and thus arguably teaches all limitations of the claims (see rejections above). However, even if these capacitors cannot be said to be “configured to filter out AC electricity”, the claims would still be considered obvious over Xu in view of Abou-Alfotouh as discussed below.[claim 1]
Regarding claim 1, Bean discloses a powering device for image acquisition, comprising:
an energy storage circuit connected to a power supply and configured to store electric energy of the power supply (Figure 1, 110; Figure 2); and
an image acquisition apparatus connected to the energy storage circuit and configured to use the electric energy stored in the energy storage circuit for powering during image acquisition (Figure 1, 130; Paragraph 0030), wherein,
the image acquisition apparatus comprises a camera (Paragraph 0030),
the power supply is configured to power circuit components other than the image acquisition apparatus during image acquisition (Figure 1, 120/140/150; Paragraph 0020)),
the energy storage circuit comprises:
an energy storage capacitor configured to store the electric energy of the power supply in the energy storage capacitor (Figure 2, 112; Paragraph 0021, 0033-0034).
However, Bean does not disclose that the energy storage circuit further comprises a first filter capacitor arranged in parallel with the energy storage capacitor and configured to filter out AC electricity.
Xu discloses a similar powering device for image acquisition (Figures 7 and 12), comprising: an energy storage circuit connected to a power supply and configured to store electric energy of the power supply (Figure 7, 208; Figure 12, 424);
wherein, the energy storage circuit comprises: an energy storage capacitor configured to store the electric energy of the power supply in the energy storage capacitor (Paragraph 0026; one of the capacitors of the two or more capacitors storing energy supplied by buck-boost converter 210), and
the energy storage circuit further comprises a first capacitor arranged in parallel with the energy storage capacitor and configured to increase capacitance (Paragraph 0026; a second capacitor of the two or more capacitors connected in parallel).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to include a first filter capacitor arranged in parallel with the ultracapacitor of Bean to increase capacitance.
However, while Xu discloses wherein the energy storage circuit further comprises a second capacitor arranged in parallel with the energy storage capacitor (Paragraph 0026; a second capacitor of the two or more capacitors connected in parallel), Xu arguably does not explicitly disclose that the second capacitor is configured to filter out AC electricity.
Abou-Alfotouh teaches an output filter (Figure 12) for a power converter such as a buck or boost converter (Paragraph 0005, 0021-0022) including a capacitor which is provided in parallel with an output to a load and configured to filter out AC electricity (Figure 12, Cout2; Paragraph 0052; note that high frequency ripple is a form of AC electricity).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to provide an output filter including a filter capacitor arranged in parallel for converter 210 of Xu as taught by Abou-Alfotouh so that AC electricity such as high frequency ripple may be filtered out thereby removing noise and providing more stable DC electricity to the load, i.e. storage capacitor 208.[claim 3]
Regarding claim 3, Bean discloses a power converter which may be a DC-DC converter (Figure 2, 116) to convert an input DC voltage into a DC output voltage suitable for energizing the ultracapacitor (Paragraph 0036) and a power conditioner which may be a DC-DC converter (Figure 2, 114) to convert the stored DC voltage into a DC output suitable for powering the electronics 102 (Paragraph 0024-0025). However, Bean does not explicitly disclose a boost circuit and a buck circuit configured as claimed.
Xu discloses a powering device wherein the energy storage circuit further comprises: a boost circuit connected between the power supply and the energy storage capacitor, and configured to increase a voltage of the power supply to a first voltage and store the electric energy of the first voltage in the energy storage capacitor (Figure 12, 420); and a buck circuit connected between the energy storage capacitor and the image acquisition apparatus, and configured to reduce the electric energy of the first voltage stored in the energy storage capacitor to a second voltage, and provide the electric energy of the second voltage to the image acquisition apparatus (Figure 12, 422). See also Paragraph 0051.
The choice of a boost and buck converter allows a DC voltage to be stepped up for storage and stepped down for powering thereby allowing for a higher quantity of power to be stored in the capacitor while providing a suitable power voltage for image acquisition.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to provide a boost converter in power converter 116 and a buck converter in power conditioner 114 so that a high quantity of power may be stored in the ultracapacitor while providing a suitable voltage for image acquisition. [claims 9 and 11]
Regarding claims 9 and 11, see the rejection of claims 1 and 3 above and note that Bean in view of Xu discloses electronic equipment comprising a power supply (e.g. Bean; Figure 1) and the powering device for image acquisition connected to the power supply (see the rejections above).[claims 17 and 18]
Claims 17 and 18 are method claims corresponding to apparatus claims 1 and 2. Therefore, claims 17 and 18 are analyzed and rejected as previously discussed with respect to claims 1 and 2.[claims 19 and 20]
Claims 19 and 20 are method claims corresponding to apparatus claim 3. Therefore, claims 19 and 20 are analyzed and rejected as previously discussed with respect to claim 3.
Alternatively, claim(s) 4-6 and 12-14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bean et al. (US 2004/0036449 A1) in view of Xu et al. (US 2013/0093514 A1) in view of Abou-Alfotouh et al. (US 2010/0164650 A1) in view of Texas Instruments – LM1577/LM2577 SIMPLE SWITCHER® Step-Up Voltage Regulator, hereinafter LM1577[claim 4]
Regarding claim 4, Bean in view of Xu in view of Abou-Alfotouh does not explicitly disclose wherein the boost circuit comprises: a boost inductor connected between the power supply and the energy storage capacitor, and configured to increase a voltage of the power supply; and a boost control chip arranged in parallel with the boost inductor, and configured to set the first voltage and control the boost inductor to increase the voltage of the power supply to the first voltage before charging the energy storage capacitor, wherein a voltage of the energy storage capacitor after charging is the first voltage.
LM1577discloses a boost circuit which is cost effective, simply to use and may provide a fixed or adjustable output voltage (p. 1, DESCRIPTION). The boost converter of TO includes a boost inductor connected between an input and an output, and configured to increase a voltage of the power supply (p. 2, Typical Application, 100uF inductor); and a boost control chip arranged in parallel with the boost inductor, and configured to set the first voltage and control the boost inductor to increase the voltage of the power supply to the first voltage (p. 2, Typical Application, LM2577). Therefore, it would have been obvious to use a boost circuit as taught by LM1577 to provide a boost of the voltage between the power supply and the storage capacitor in a cost effective and simple to use manner and so that the voltage provided to the storage capacitor may be boosted from the power supply voltage.
Note that the combined system of Bean in view of Xu in view of Abou-Alfotouh and LM1577 would have the claimed features of claim 4.[claim 5]
Regarding claim 5, Bean in view of Xu in view of Abou-Alfotouh in view of LM1577 discloses wherein the boost circuit further comprises: a rectifier diode connected between the boost inductor and the energy storage capacitor, and configured to rectify the boosted current (TI, p. 2, Typical Application, diode 1N5821).[claim 6]
Regarding claim 6, Bean in view of Xu in view of Abou-Alfotouh in view of LM1577 discloses a boost feedback circuit, wherein an output terminal of the rectifier diode is connected to a first voltage feedback interface of the boost control chip through the boost feedback circuit wherein the boost feedback circuit is configured to feed back the voltage rectified by the rectifier diode to the boost control chip, to cause the boost control chip to control an operation of the boost inductor based on the fed back rectified voltage (TI, p. 2, Typical Application, circuit formed by R1 and R2 connected to output of diode and FEED-BACK input of LM2577-ADJ).[claims 12-14]
Regarding claims 12-14, see the rejection of claim 11 as well as the rejection of claims 4-6 above respectively.
Alternatively, claim(s) 7, 8, 15 and 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bean in view of Xu et al. (US 2013/0093514 A1) in view of Abou-Alfotouh et al. (US 2010/0164650 A1) in view of Texas Instruments – LM5163-Q1 100-V Input, 0.5-A Synchronous Buck DC/DC Converter with Ultra-low IQ, hereinafter LM5163.[claim 7]
Regarding claim 7, Xu in view of Abou-Alfotouh does not explicitly disclose wherein the buck circuit comprises: a buck control chip connected to the energy storage capacitor, and configured to set the second voltage; and a buck inductor connected between the buck control chip and the image acquisition apparatus, and configured to reduce the first voltage of the energy storage capacitor to the second voltage according to the control of the buck control chip, and provide the electric energy of the second voltage to the image acquisition apparatus.
LM5163 discloses a buck circuit with a reduced solution size and cost among other features (p. 1, Features and Description). The buck circuit of LM5163 comprises: a buck control chip connected to an input, and configured to set a second voltage (p. 1, Typical Application, LM5163-Q1); and a buck inductor connected between the buck control chip and an output, and configured to reduce the first voltage of the input to the second voltage according to the control of the buck control chip, and provide the electric energy of the second voltage to output (p. 1, Typical Application, Lo 120uH). Therefore, it would have been obvious to use a buck circuit as taught by LM5163 to provide an output voltage using a circuit having reduce solution size and cost among other benefits.
Note that the combined system of Xu in view of Abou-Alfotouh and LM5163 would have the claimed features of claim 7.[claim 8]
Regarding claim 8, Bean in view of Xu in view of Abou-Alfotouh in view of LM5163 discloses wherein the buck circuit further comprises: a buck feedback circuit, wherein an output end of the buck inductor is connected to a second voltage feedback interface of the buck control chip through the buck feedback circuit (LM5163, p. 1, Typical Application, output of inductor connected to RFB1 and RFB2 and FB input of LM5163-Q1); wherein the buck feedback circuit is configured to feed back the voltage bucked by the buck inductor to the buck control chip, to cause the buck control chip to control an operation of the buck inductor based on the fed back bucked voltage (p. 1, Typical Application, see also 7.2 Functional Block Diagram and FEEDBACK COMPARATOR).[claims 15 and 16]
Regarding claims 15 and 16, see the rejection of claim 11 as well as the rejection of claims 7 and 8 above respectively.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TIMOTHY J HENN whose telephone number is (571)272-7310. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday ~10-6.
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/Timothy J Henn/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2639
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