DETAILED ACTION
Claims 1 – 16 are pending.
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 .
Notification of invoking - 35 USC § 112(f)
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(f):
(f) Element in Claim for a Combination. – An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
Claims 1 – 16 are invoking 112(f) interpretation for reciting limitations such as “processing module” “first power supply module”, “second power supply module”, “third power supply module”, “fusing module”, “main power supply module”, “connection module” has/have been interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, because it uses/they use a generic placeholder “module” coupled with functional language “configured to output, receive” without reciting sufficient structure to achieve the function. Furthermore, the generic placeholder is not preceded by a structural modifier.
Since the claim limitation(s) invokes 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, claim(s) 1-16 has/have been interpreted to cover the corresponding structure described in the specification that achieves the claimed function, and equivalents thereof.
A review of the specification shows that the following appears to be the corresponding structure described in the specification paragraphs [0017,0019,0025,0028,0038,0055,0059] for the 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph limitation. Thus, the above invoking 112(f) terms “processing module” “first power supply module” “second power supply module” “fusing module”, “main power supply module”, “connection module” will be interpreted according to the structure definition provided in paragraphs [0017, 0019, 0025, 0028, 0038,0055,0059].
If applicant wishes to provide further explanation or dispute the examiner’s interpretation of the corresponding structure, applicant must identify the corresponding structure with reference to the specification by page and line number, and to the drawing, if any, by reference characters in response to this Office action.
If applicant does not intend to have the claim limitation(s) treated under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112 , sixth paragraph, applicant may amend the claim(s) so that it/they will clearly not invoke 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, or present a sufficient showing that the claim recites/recite sufficient structure, material, or acts for performing the claimed function to preclude application of 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph.
For more information, see MPEP § 2173 et seq. and Supplementary Examination Guidelines for Determining Compliance With 35 U.S.C. 112 and for Treatment of Related Issues in Patent Applications, 76 FR 7162, 7167 (Feb. 9, 2011).
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.
Claims 6-16 are 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 pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
In claim 6:
line 3 recites “outputting a detecting signal to a first power supply module”. It is unclear where the detecting signal is coming from. It should be “outputting a detecting signal, by a processing module of a control circuit, to a first power supply module”.
line 4 recites “a consumable”, it is unclear what is a consumable. It should be “a consumable circuit”.
Line 5 recites “obtaining a monitoring signal of the fusing module. It is unclear how to obtain that monitoring signal. It should be “obtaining a monitoring signal, by the processing module, of the fusing module.
Line 8 recites “outputting a fusing trigger signal to a second power supply module”. It should be “outputting a fusing trigger signal, by the processing module, to a second power supply module”.
In Claim 7:
Line 5 recites “when receiving a feedback signal corresponding to a third power supply signal”. It is unclear what/which the receiving a feedback signal is. It should be “when receiving a feedback signal, by the processing module, corresponding to a third power supply signal”.
Line 6 and line 8 recite “the consumable” is unclear. It should be “the consumable circuit”.
Line 7 recites “outputting the detection trigger signal” is unclear. It should be “outputting the detection trigger signal, by the processing module”.
In claim 8:
Line 6 recites “monitoring a pulse control signal” is unclear. It should be “monitoring a pulse control signal, by the processing module”.
In claim 9:
Line 7, 11, 14 recite “the consumable” is unclear. It should be “the consumable circuit”.
In claim 10:
Line 3 recites “the consumable” is unclear. It should be “the consumable circuit”.
In claim 13:
Line 2 recites “the consumable as claimed in claim 2” lacks of antecedent basis. It should be “the consumable as claimed in claim 1”.
Lines 2 and 3 recite “the consumable” is unclear. It should be “the consumable circuit”.
In claims 13, 14,15 and 16:
Line 2 recites “the consumable as claimed in claim 2” lacks of antecedent basis. It should be “the consumable as claimed in claim 1”.
Lines 2 and 3 recite “the consumable” is unclear. It should be “the consumable circuit”.
Claims 14-16 recites the same issue. Specifically, claims 14 recites “the consumable as claimed in claim 4” lacks of antecedent basis. Thus, claims 14-16 should recite “the consumable circuit as claimed in claim 1”.
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 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.
Claims 1,2 and 6 are rejected under AIA 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Chen et al (US 20220094354 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Chen discloses a consumable management system [Figs. 2-4] is characterized in that it comprises a control circuit and a consumable circuit [Fig. 2], the control circuit comprises a processing module [0011: a processing unit], a first power supply module and a second power supply module [power supplies 91,92], the consumable circuit comprises a fusing module [switch unit 14], the consumable circuit is arranged in a consumable, wherein,
the processing module is configured to output a detection trigger signal to the first power supply module, and output a fusing trigger signal to the second power supply module when determining that a state of the fusing module is a connected state [0011: processing unit might provide the first control signal that the plurality of power supplies are electrically connected in series in the first current loop][0022: control the voltage isolation circuit 1 by a processing unit (such as a computer), so that the series switch group 10 is conducted and the parallel switch group 12 is not conducted][0019-0023][Claim 3]; the
first power supply module is configured to receive the detection trigger signal and output a first power supply signal to the fusing module for a state detection of the fusing module; the second power supply module is configured to receive the fusing trigger signal and output a second power supply signal to the fusing module for keeping the fusing module in a disconnected state [0011: processing unit might provide the first control signal that the plurality of power supplies are electrically connected in series in the first current loop] [0022: the switch unit 14 is conducted, the accumulated output current of the power supply 91 and the power supply 92 can be fed into the load device DUT from the first end 16a][0019-0023][Claim 3].
Regarding claim 2, Chen discloses the consumable management system according to claim 1, is characterized in that, the processing module outputs the fusing trigger signal to the second power supply when determining that the state of the fusing module is a connected state and the processing module triggers pulse treatment, to control the second power supply module to output the second power supply signal to the fusing module, so as to keep the fusing module in a disconnected state [0022: the switch unit 14 is conducted, the accumulated output current of the power supply 91 and the power supply 92 can be fed into the load device DUT from the first end 16a].
Claim 6 is rejected for the same reasons as set forth in claim 1.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-5 and 7-16 are objected to allow if overcome the 112(b) indefinite rejection.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
The prior arts of record do not disclose nor suggest the limitation in claims 3-5 and 7-16.
Conclusion
Examiner's note: Examiner has cited particular paragraphs and columns and line numbers in the references as applied to the claims above for the convenience of the applicant. Although the specified citations are representative of the teachings of the art and are applied to the specific limitations within the individual claim, other passages and figures may apply as well. It is respectfully requested from the applicant in preparing responses, to fully consider the references in entirety as potentially teaching all or part of the claimed invention, as well as the context of the passage as taught by the prior art or disclosed by the examiner (see MPEP § 2123).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PHIL K NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)270-3356. The examiner can normally be reached 9:30 a.m - 5 p.m.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Jaweed Abbaszadeh can be reached at (571)270-1640. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/PHIL K NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2176
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