DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
1. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Information Disclosure Statement (IDS)
2. The IDS submitted on 01/06/25 has been entered and considered by the Examiner.
Priority
3. Acknowledgment is made of Applicant's Supplemental Remarks filed on 05/04/26 regarding future submission of Foreign Priority Documents: TW113102128 and TW113124431.
Election/Restrictions
4. Applicant elects Species II (Claims 4-13) with traverse in the reply filed on 04/30/26 is acknowledged.
In the Remarks, Applicant argues that simultaneous examination of Species I and II (Claims 1-3 and 4-13) will not present an undue burden. Examiner respectfully disagrees, as pointed out in the Requirement for Restriction/Election, mailed on 03/03/26, that the Spices I is related to serial inductors configuration (Figure 2A) while Spices II deals with parallel inductors configurations (Figure 3A). Since configurations/structures of Species I and II are different and not obvious over each other, there is a search and/or examination burden on the Examiner.
Claim Objections/Suggestions
5. Following claims are objected to because of the following informalities:
in claim 4, “inductor generating” (line 6) should be replaced with “inductor to generate”, “or a predetermined ratio of the voltage across the two ends” (line 7) should be replaced with “or a predetermined ratio of a voltage across two ends”, “coupler sensing” (line 9) should be replaced with “coupler to sense”, “or a predetermined ratio of the voltage across the two ends” (lines 9-10) should be replaced with “or a predetermined ratio of a voltage across two ends”, “and generating” (line 10) should be replaced with “and to generate”, “generator receiving” (line 12) should be replaced with “generator to receive”, “so that” (line 14) should be replaced with “in a manner that”, “wherein an objective of the current” (line 16) should be replaced with “wherein the current” and “the circuit itself” (line 10) should be replaced with “the circuit”;
in claim 6, “the amplifier or the amplifiers” (line 3) should be replaced with “the one or multiple amplifiers”;
in claim 7, “and then transmits” (line 4) should be replaced with “and transmits”; and
in claim 11, “the second currents” (lines 5-6) should be replaced with “the second current”.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
6. 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.
7. Claims 4-13 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.
Claim 4 recites limitation “the inductance” (line 1). There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. In addition, claim 4 recites “wherein a first current…” (lines 2-3) and “wherein the main inductor…” (lines 4-5). Since preceding said “wherein the main inductor …” a coordinator (e.g., and/or) is missing, it is not clear whether the limitation/s in claim 1 is referring to all limitations (i.e., wherein a first current… and wherein the main inductor…) or just one of them (i.e., wherein a first current…); similarly, “wherein…” (line 16 of claim 4 as well as in line 3 of claim 5, line 4 of claim 8 and line 15 of claim 11) is missing “and/or”. Hence, renders claim 4 and its dependent claims indefinite.
Claim 5 recites the limitation “a voltage across the two ends of the main inductor” (lines 4-5). It is not clear whether said "voltage across the two ends of the main inductor " is different from or the same as recited in lines 6-7 of claim 4 "a voltage across the two ends of the main inductor".
Reason for Allowance
8. Abraham (US 6,104,707) teaches in Figure 4 a main inductor (L1) coupled with a power line and a first inductor (L2); in Figure 9 teaches a transformer; and in Figure 10E teaches a coupler (14). Kline (US 2002/0118101 A1) teaches in Figure 6 inductors (602) disposed on a power line (120), a coupler (606) and a current generator (682). Cern (US 2003/0201873 A1) teaches in Figures 1-6 a high inductive power line data coupler. White (US 2004/0113757 A1) teaches in Figure 7 a main and first inductors (720) disposed on a power line (120), a coupler (606) and a current generator (Power Supply). However, the prior art of record when implemented, would not produce said circuit as claimed in claim 4.
Conclusion
9. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the Examiner should be directed to SHAWKAT M. ALI whose telephone number is (571) 270-1639. The Examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Thursday 8:30AM-3:30PM ET.
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 AIR at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the Examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the Examiner’s Supervisor, SAM K. AHN can be reached on (571) 272-3044. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/SHAWKAT M ALI/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2633
Prosecution Insights