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 § 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.
Claim(s) 1, 3, 8-12, and 18-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Floresca et al (Pub 2018/0131411, further referred to as Floresca) in view of Reynolds et al (Pub 2020/0266673, further referred to as Reynolds).
As to claim 1, Floresca teaches a self-adaptive backscattering device (figs 3, 4, 7), comprising:
an antenna (9) for receiving and transmitting radio frequency (RF) signals (paragraph 30);
a non-linear element (201) coupled to the antenna; and
a switch (301)(paragraph 48) for operably coupling the non-linear element to a wireless power harvesting (WPH) load (11), wherein when the switch is on, the non-linear element is connected to the WPH load for harvesting RF signals incident on the antenna to direct current (DC) energy
in a WPH mode (paragraph 37);
when the switch is off, the device switches from the WPH mode to a harmonic backscattering (HB) mode for transmitting harmonic backscattered RF signals through the antenna (paragraph 48, switch is turned off bypassing (301), fig 7 (703) paragraph 57 enabling backscattering transmission), and
the switch self-adaptively switches between on and off based on harvested DC
energy (paragraphs 7, 34, 48, the switch self adaptively switched by a controller 12 when it decides to send a message where the message is based on harvest DC energy, paragraph 7, status of battery).
Floresca does not teach a backscattering harmonic.
Reynolds teaches a wireless powered device (fig 1, 118) which uses backscattering communication (128) in which the uses backscattering harmonic (paragraph 79) in the backscattering communication. As such it would have been recognized by a person of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the invention to combine the wireless device taught in Floresca with the backscattering harmonics taught in Reynolds in order to improve power harvesting and communication.
As to claim 3, Floresca teaches an energy storage for storing the harvested energy (load can be a battery, paragraph 3), and at least one sensor powered by the energy storage for generating sensor information (the controller contains a sensor in order to send message related to the status the battery, paragraph 7, where the whole receiver device is powered by the battery)
As to claim 8, Floresca teaches regulation circuit (202, paragraph 37) to adapt a DC signal to the load. As would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art using a capacitor to adjust the signal to the load is done merely as a design choice to choosing a notoriously well-known filtering component to adjust a signal output to a load.
As to claim 9, Floresca teaches the nonlinear circuit is a rectifier (201, paragraph 37). As would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art forming a rectifier with a single Schottky diode is done merely as a design choice to choosing user desired rectifying circuit.
As to claim 10, Floresca teaches using a switch (paragraph 37). It would be obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to us a SPST switch as doing so would be a mere matter of design choice to choosing a notoriously well known in the art switching circuit.
As to claim 11, Floresca teaches a self-adaptive method of wireless power harvesting using a backscattering device (figs 3, 4, 7), comprising:
Receiving radio frequencies (at an antenna (9)) from a transceiver (paragraph 30);
Converting the RF signals into a direct current (DC) energy in a WPH mode via a non-linear element (201);
a switch (301)(paragraph 48) for operably coupling the non-linear element to a wireless power harvesting (WPH) load (11), wherein when the switch is on, the non-linear element is connected to the WPH load for harvesting RF signals incident on the antenna to direct current (DC) energy
in a WPH mode (paragraph 37);
when the switch is off, the device switches from the WPH mode to a harmonic backscattering (HB) mode for transmitting harmonic backscattered RF signals through the antenna (paragraph 48, switch is turned off bypassing (301), fig 7 (703) paragraph 57 enabling backscattering transmission), and
automatically switching from the WPH mode to a HB communication mode for generating backscattered RF signals via the nonlinear based on harvested DC energy (paragraphs 7, 34, 48, the switch self adaptively switched by a controller 12 when it decides to send a message where the message is based on harvest DC energy, paragraph 7, status of battery).
Floresca does not teach a backscattering harmonic.
Reynolds teaches a wireless powered device (fig 1, 118) which uses backscattering communication (128) in which the uses backscattering harmonic (paragraph 79) in the backscattering communication. As such it would have been recognized by a person of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the invention to combine the wireless device taught in Floresca with the backscattering harmonics taught in Reynolds in order to improve power harvesting and communication.
As to claim 12, Floresca teaches the transceiver is a simultaneous wireless information and power transfer transmitter (paragraph 30 and 31, sends power and information)
As to claim 18, Floresca using energy storage ((11), paragraph 3, load can be a battery).
As to claim 19, Floresca teaches the receiver circuit is a portable device (paragraphs 2 and 42).
As to claim 20, Floresca teaches the switch is on by default (fig 7, 701).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2, 4-7, 13-17 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.
None of the cited prior art teaches or suggest the sensor and switching of the threshold levels as is recited in claims 2, 4, 5, 13-16; the frequency matching taught in 6, 7, 17
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Baarman et al (Pub 2011/0115303) teaches a wireless power transfer using backscatter communication.
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/JEFFREY M SHIN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2849