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 .
DETAILED ACTION
This communication is in response to the amendments filed on 02/24/2026.
Claims 1-22 are currently pending and have been examined.
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 –
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claims 1-22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Atwater et al. “US 2010/0139989 A1” (Atwater).
Regarding Claims 1 and 12: An indicia reader comprising:
a housing having a lower housing portion with an upper surface facing a product scanning region and an upper housing portion extending above the lower housing portion (at least see Atwater Abstract; Fig. 1; [0035]);
a power source assembly positioned at least partially within the housing (at least see Atwater Abstract; Fig. 6C; [0083]);
a load cell (at least see Atwater Abstract; Fig. 1; [0043]); and
a weigh platter configured to be supported by the load cell, the weigh platter further configured to support an object placed on the weigh platter for obtaining a weight of the object, the weigh platter having a power storage assembly (at least see Atwater Abstract; Figs. 19-20 ; [0035] and [0043]-[0044]),
wherein the power source assembly is configured to supply electrical power to the power storage assembly resulting in stored electrical power (at least see Atwater Abstract; Fig. 9A; [0083]-[0085]), and
wherein the power storage assembly is configured to deliver the stored electrical power to at least one electronic device within the weigh platter (at least see Atwater Abstract; Fig. 5; [0174]).
Regarding Claims 2 and 13: The indicia reader of claim 1, wherein the power source assembly is configured to supply the electrical power to the power storage assembly via a wireless power transfer (at least see Atwater [0053]).
Regarding Claims 3 and 14: The indicia reader of claim 2, wherein the power source assembly includes a first inductive coil configured to generate a magnetic field in response to a first current being supplied to the first inductive coil, wherein the power storage assembly includes a second inductive coil configured to generate a second current responsive to being with the magnetic field, and wherein the second current is converted to the stored electrical power in a power storage unit of a power storage assembly (at least see Atwater Abstract; Fig. 1; [0045]).
Regarding Claims 4 and 15: The indicia reader of claim 3, wherein one of the first inductive coil or the second inductive coil is nested within another one of the first inductive coil or the second inductive coil (at least see Atwater Abstract; Fig. 6D; [0084]).
Regarding Claims 5 and 16: The indicia reader of claim 1, further comprising a controller communicatively coupled to the load cell and the power source assembly, wherein the controller is configured to activate the power source assembly to supply the electrical power to the power storage assembly, and responsive to detecting a positive weight sensed by the load cell, deactivate the power source from supplying the electrical power to the power storage assembly (at least see Atwater [0106]).
Regarding Claims 6 and 17: The indicia reader of claim 1, further comprising a controller communicatively coupled to the load cell and the power source assembly, wherein the controller is configured to activate the power source assembly to supply the electrical power to the power storage assembly, and responsive to detecting a wakeup signal from a wakeup subsystem, deactivate the power source from supplying the electrical power to the power storage assembly (at least see Atwater [0139]).
Regarding Claims 7 and 18: The indicia reader of claim 1, wherein the weigh platter includes a first lateral side, a second lateral side parallel to the first lateral side, a first transverse side proximal the upper housing portion, and a second transverse side distal the upper housing portion, wherein the second transverse side includes a ridge portion extending above the upper surface of the weigh platter, and wherein the power storage assembly includes a power storage unit located at least partially within the ridge portion (at least see Atwater [0085]).
Regarding Claim 8: The indicia reader of claim 1, wherein the weigh platter includes a first lateral side, a second lateral side parallel to the first lateral side, a first transverse side proximal the upper housing portion, and a second transverse side distal the upper housing portion, wherein the weigh platter further includes an upright portion extending in an upward direction at the first transverse side, the upright portion of the weigh platter extending along a side of the upper housing, and wherein the power storage assembly includes a power storage unit located at least partially within the upright portion of the weigh platter (at least see Atwater Abstract; [0098]).
Regarding Claims 9 and 19: The indicia reader of claim 1, wherein the at least one electronic device within the weigh platter is associated with at least one of an off-platter detection subsystem, a wake-up subsystem, an alert subsystem, a vision-based data capture subsystem, a radio-signal based data capture subsystem, or a user-interface subsystem (at least see Atwater Abstract; Fig. 1; [0042]).
Regarding Claims 10 and 21: The indicia reader of claim 1, wherein the weigh platter has a clearance of at least 2 mm of downward travel relative to the housing of the indicia reader (at least see Atwater Abstract; Fig. 1; [0035]).
Regarding Claims 11 and 22: The indicia reader of claim 1, wherein the weigh platter is removable from the indicia reader by an operator of the indicia reader (at least see Atwater [0126]).
Regarding Claim 20: The data capture device of claim 12, further comprising: an imaging assembly operable to capture image data having an indicia captured therein; and a decoding module configured to analyze the image data to decode the indicia and to provide a decoded payload to a host (at least see Atwater [0054]).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 02/24/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
In the remarks, the Applicant argues in substance:
Argument:
The provided Atwater excerpts do not describe such a power source assembly in the housing charging a power storage assembly in the platter, nor do they describe any electronic device within the weigh platter being powered from stored electrical energy in the platter.
In response, the Examiner respectfully disagrees. Applicant is reminded that claims must be given their broadest reasonable interpretation. Atwater stated “[0083] FIG. 6C is a block diagram illustrating an example transmitter 620 and an example receiver 660 for detecting whether an item being weighed on a weigh platter is off the weigh platter of a weight scale, which may introduce weighing errors. The transmitter 620 comprises a power source 622 and an oscillator or driver circuit 624. The transmitter 620 is coupled to a set of one or more emitter transducers 630 that emit ultrasound compression waves 650, which are detected by a set of one or more receiving or sensing transducers 640. The transducers 640 are coupled to the receiver 660, which includes an amplifier 662 to amplify the signal generated at transducers 640 by the incident compression waves 650. The receiver 660 may be coupled to an analog to digital convertor, which may be implemented in or by the controller 540 or another circuit, to process the received signals. The piezoelectric transducers 630, 640, or both, may be placed around one or more edges of the weigh platter 110 so that an object blocking one or more transducers, such as produce hanging over an edge of the platter, reduces an output of the receiver 660, which indicates that some corrective action needs to be taken to help prevent weighing errors. For example, an emitter transducer 630, such as a piezo film having a diameter of approximately one inch, may be supported on the upper housing 124 and one or more receiving transducers 640 (each of which may comprise, for example, a piezo film having a diameter of approximately one inch) may be positioned along one or more edges of the weigh platter 110. According to one embodiment, the emitter transducers 630 and receiving transducers 640 may be configured to transmit and receive non-electromagnetic compression waves within the range of approximately 200 kilohertz to approximately 400 kilohertz.” Also “[0098] For example, if capacitor 910 is a 100 pF capacitor and inductor 915 is a 2.5 .mu.H inductor, the resonant frequency is approximately 10 Mhz. The antenna 925 is connected to the output of the RF transmitter 900 at an end of inductor 915 opposite the power source 920 (e.g., a five volt DC power source). Antenna 925 may comprise the weigh platter 110 or an appropriate length wire surrounding the weigh platter 110. Resistor 930 (e.g., a 10 k.OMEGA. resistor) and capacitor 940 (a 0.01 .mu.F capacitor) may be connected in parallel between the base of transistor 905 and the positive side of the power source 920. Resistor 935 (e.g., a 1 k.OMEGA. resistor) may be connected between the base of transistor 905 and the negative side of the power source 920. Resistor 945 (e.g., a 1 k.OMEGA. resistor) and capacitor 950 (a 22 pF capacitor) may be connected in parallel between the emitter of transistor 905 and the negative side of the power source 920.” Stated in “[0087] The method 700 includes the steps of generating and transmitting one or more non-electromagnetic compression waves from one or more emitters at step 705. For example, a transmitter (e.g., transmitter 620) may be coupled to and drive the one or more emitter transducers so that the transducers transmit non-electromagnetic compression waves, which propagate toward one or more sensors. The emitter(s) may extend along one or more lateral edges of the weigh platter 110 (FIG. 6A), be disposed on the upper housing 124 (FIG. 6B), or be suitably positioned elsewhere on the scanner system. After being generated, the compression waves travel to one or more sensors. At step 710, compression wave(s) incident upon the one or more sensors are detected. For example, a receiver (e.g., receiver 660) may be coupled to the one or more sensors to amplify the signal generated at the sensor(s) by the incident compression waves. The receiver may also be coupled to an analog to digital convertor so that the received signals can be processed.” Therefore Atwater meets the scope of the claimed limitations.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any extension fee pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FATEH M OBAID whose telephone number is (571)270-7121. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8:00 A.M to 4:30 P.M.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Ryan Zeender can be reached at (571) 272-6790. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/FATEH M OBAID/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3627
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