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 .
Status of Claims
This action is in reply to the application filed on 9/28/2024 and the response and amendments filed 6/19/2026.
Claims 1, 4, 7, 9, 10, 12, 13, and 15-17 are currently amended.
Claims 3, 5, and 6 have been previously amended.
Claims 18-27 have been added.
Claims 2, 8, 11, 14, and 18-20 have been cancelled.
Claims 1, 3-7, 9, 10, 12, 13, 15-17, and 21-27 are currently pending and have been examined.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement(s) (IDS(s)) submitted on 9/28/2024 has been received and considered.
Response to Amendment
Applicant’s amendments to the Drawings and Claims have overcome each and every objection and 112(b) rejection previously set forth in the Non-Final Office Action mailed 3/20/2026. The amendments have further removed the invocation of 112(f), therefore the 112(f) interpretation has been withdrawn.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see pages 11-13, filed 6/19/2026, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1 and 9 under 35 USC 103 have been fully considered but are not persuasive regarding Widmer 514 (WO 2016209514) failing to teach the elements of “processing and comparing the first digital signal and the second digital signal via the signal evaluator,” and “calculating, from the comparison of the first digital signal and the second digital signal, a directional deviation value between the longitudinal direction of the vehicle and a connecting line extending between the stationary inductive charging device and the mobile inductive charging device.” Therefore, the rejection has been maintained and updated as necessitated by amendment.
Regarding Claim 1’s “processing and comparing the first digital signal and the second digital signal via the signal evaluator,” Widmer 514 ¶ 00170 lines 27-33 as cited in the original and following rejection teaches “establish relative phase synchronization in the frequency domain between the first portion, the second portion, and the third portion of the respective signal generated by each of the plurality of sense coils 612, 614, 616 by shifting a phase angle of at least one of the first portion, the second portion and the third portion by an angle corresponding to the relative phase angle Αφ or an integer multiple of the relative phase angle Αφ,” teaches generation of the signal by an operation using a relative (i.e. a comparison) phase angle by the phase synchronization process, within the broadest reasonable interpretation of “comparison” in the current drafting of the claim. This is further supported by ¶ 0067 “The 3-axis or 2-axis generator/3-axis sensor position finding problem of vehicle charging only requires knowledge of the relative signal (vector) polarities and thus relative phase synchronization between tones of an FDM transmission,” ¶ 0086-0088 describing resolution of position ambiguity in the phase synchronization, and ¶ 0099, FIG. 10B illustrates a magnetic radio compass 1050 obtaining absolute phase information from a reference signal, in accordance with some implementations. In theory, a sinusoidal time synchronization reference signal v.sub.rej{t) may be transmitted through a separate channel whose phase is not affected by the position and rotation of the sensor's coordinate frame. Marking (or measuring) v.sub.x(t) and v.sub.y(t) at specific time instances where the amplitude of the reference signal is, e.g., positive, as illustrated by the dashed lines and associated circles on the waveforms for v.sub.x(i) and v.sub.y(i) in FIG. 10B, would reveal the true polarity and thus the direction of the magnetic field vector,” together describing a comparison of the relative phase angles of the received signals in order to resolve and generate a positional signal.
Regarding Claim 1’s “calculating, from the comparison of the first digital signal and the second digital signal, a directional deviation value between the longitudinal direction of the vehicle and a connecting line extending between the stationary inductive charging device and the mobile inductive charging device,” Widmer 514 ¶ 00191 as cited and elaborated upon in the prior and current rejections describes determining a relative position between the wireless transmitter and receiver. The described relative position is mathematically trivially different from an arbitrary angle between the longitudinal direction of the vehicle and the line between the charging devices, which is interpreted as a value describing directional deviation. Therefore, within the broadest reasonable interpretation, the cited passage in Widmer 514 is considered to teach the directional deviation value as currently drafted.
In response to applicant's argument that the references fail to show certain features of the invention regarding Claim 9 and the shunt measurement described in the specification, it is noted that the features upon which applicant relies (i.e., measurement across a resistor) are not recited in the rejected claim(s). Although the claims are interpreted in light of the specification, limitations from the specification are not read into the claims. See In re Van Geuns, 988 F.2d 1181, 26 USPQ2d 1057 (Fed. Cir. 1993).
Applicant’s arguments, see pages 14, filed 6/19/2026, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 22-24 under 35 USC 103 have been fully considered and are persuasive regarding the further definition of the directional deviation value within the claims. Each of claims 22-24 presents a different way of describing this differentiation, and each claim positively distinguishes the directional deviation value as a distinct entity from the more generally claimed value that is taught by Widmer 514.
Claim Objections
Claim 27 recites “An inductive charging device” and introduces a new embodiment; therefore, it is an independent claim. However, language such as “to carry out the method of claim 1” is indicative of dependent-type claims in the new “inductive charging device” embodiment. Since claim 1 explicitly recites “A method” embodiment, it is considered a separate and distinct embodiment from the “inductive charging device.”
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 1, 3-4, 6-7 and 12, 13, 15-17, 21, and 27 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Widmer et al (WO 2016209514, hereinafter “Widmer 514,”) in view of Kilic et al (DE 102014202747, hereinafter “Kilic,” all citations and excerpts taken from the attached machine translation).
Regarding Claim 1, Widmer 514 teaches:
A method for positioning a vehicle having a mobile inductive charging device in a defined position in relation to a stationary inductive charging device, (Widmer 514 ¶ 0003 lines 1-2 “According to some implementations, an apparatus for determining a relative position of a wireless power transmitter from a wireless power receiver is provided,”)
the mobile inductive charging device and/or the stationary inductive charging device including a first sensor winding with a first radial longitudinal direction and a second sensor winding with a second radial longitudinal direction, the first radial longitudinal direction and the second radial longitudinal direction arranged at a first angle of 70° to 110° in relation to one another […] (Widmer 514 ¶ 0080 lines 1-23 “a 3 -axis magnetic field generator and a 3 -axis magnetic field sensor based on an orthogonal arrangement of coils 602, 604, 606, 612, 614, 616 in accordance with some implementations. The coils 602, 604, 606, 612, 614, 616 may be multi-turn wire loops or coils with or without a magnetic core. The generator coils 602, 604, 606 (e.g., first coil 602, second coil 604, and third coil 606, respectively) are arranged orthogonal to one another and are configured to be driven by respective currents […] to generate magnetic fields having magnetic moments in orthogonal directions, e.g., on a %'-, y'-, and z'-axis of the same generator coordinate frame previously described in connection with FIGs. 4A-4D. The same is true for the sense coils 612, 614, 616. If driven by respective currents, they would generate magnetic moments in orthogonal directions, e.g., on a x-, y-, and z-axis of the sensor's coordinate frame that may be arbitrarily rotated relative to that of the generator, […] However, in operation, magnetic flux from the magnetic fields generated by the generator coils 602, 604, 606 may flow through the sense coils 612, 614, 616 and generate respective voltages across the terminals of each of the sense coils 612, 614, 616. Where only two of the sense coils 612, 614, 616 are utilized, e.g., the first sense coil 612 and the second sense coil 614, a two-axis sensor may be formed.,” describing coils 602 and 604 orthogonal (90°, between 70° and 110°) from one another, as shown in Fig. 22)
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[…] the method comprising: generating a first voltage signal in the first sensor winding and a second voltage signal in the second sensor winding via a positioning signal; (Widmer 514 ¶ 0004 lines 2-5 “The method comprises generating a respective voltage signal by each of a plurality of sense coils under influence of a first alternating magnetic field oscillating at two frequencies and a second alternating magnetic field oscillating at at least one frequency,”)
detecting the first voltage signal in a signal detector; detecting the second voltage signal in the signal detector; (Widmer 514 ¶ 0061 lines 1-4 “A basic method of sensing the magnetic field for purposes of positioning assumes that at least one of a charging base or vehicle generates an alternating magnetic field that can be sensed by a sensor system, which may be either integrated into the vehicle charging unit or built into the charging base, respectively,” and ¶ 00132 lines 1-3 “ In one system, the positioning receiver may use a bank of synchronous detectors to filter and detect each of the complex voltage components of each transmitted tone as received by each sense coil,”)
converting, via a signal evaluator, the first voltage signal into a first digital signal and the second voltage signal into a second digital signal; (Widmer 514 ¶ 00174 “The AFE 2100 may provide the digital signals v.sub.x(t), v.sub.y(t), and v.sub.z(t) at its three outputs that may represent the three input signals of the synchronous detector sub- banks as shown in FIG. 19. Each of the three AFE channels comprises […] an analog-to-digital (A/D) converter 2110,”)
processing and comparing the first digital signal and the second digital signal via the signal evaluator, the processing of the first digital signal and the second digital signal including transforming the first digital signal and the second digital signal into a frequency domain; (Widmer 514 ¶ 00170 lines 27-33 “Similarly, the processor (e.g., the phase synchronization unit 1904) may be configured to establish relative phase synchronization in the frequency domain between the first portion, the second portion, and the third portion of the respective signal generated by each of the plurality of sense coils 612, 614, 616 by shifting a phase angle of at least one of the first portion, the second portion and the third portion by an angle corresponding to the relative phase angle Αφ or an integer multiple of the relative phase angle Αφ,” teaches generation of the signal by an operation using a relative (i.e. a comparison) phase angle by the phase synchronization process, within the broadest reasonable interpretation of “comparison” in the current drafting of the claim.)
and calculating, from the comparison of the first digital signal and the second digital signal, a directional deviation value between the longitudinal direction of the vehicle and a connecting line extending between the stationary inductive charging device and the mobile inductive charging device. (Widmer 514 ¶ 00191 “Block 2504 includes determining the relative position of the wireless power transmitter from the wireless power receiver based on the respective voltage signal generated by each of the plurality of sense coils. For example, as previously described in connection with at least FIGs. 4-24 a processor or controller downstream from and/or including the phase synchronization unit 1904 (see FIG. 19) may determine the relative position of the wireless power transmitter from the wireless power receiver based on the respective voltage signal generated at the output terminals of each of the plurality of sense coils 612, 614, 616,” the relative position being directly analogous to a directional deviation)
Widmer 514 does not teach:
[…] and at a second angle of 35° to 55° in relation to a longitudinal direction of the vehicle and/or a target vehicle longitudinal direction, […]
Within the same field of endeavor as Widmer 514, Kilic teaches:
[…] and at a second angle of 35° to 55° in relation to a longitudinal direction of the vehicle and/or a target vehicle longitudinal direction, […] (Kilic Pg 5 ¶ 2 “the double-winding system may be arranged substantially in the region of the center axis of the vehicle on the underside thereof, and a diagonal of the double-winding system may be congruent with the longitudinal extent of the vehicle with this. In this design of the double-winding system, in particular with a square ferrite element, the windings are each offset by 45 ° relative to the central axis of the vehicle in one direction, whereby noise of the induced voltages in the double winding system is substantially reduced, and thus an optimal determination of the positional deviation is passive coil relative to the primary coil of an inductive charging system possible,” as shown in Fig. 3 below)
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Widmer 514 and Kilic are considered analogous because they both relate to sensing alignment of inductive charging systems in vehicles. Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the orthogonal sensing coils of Widmer 514 with the 45-degree positioning of the sensing coils relative to the central axis of the vehicle of Kilic. This modification would be made with a reasonable expectation of success as motivated by significantly reducing noise in the induced voltages in the double winding system to obtain an optimal determination of positional deviation (Kilic Pg 5 ¶ 2 lines 4-7).
Regarding Claim 3, the combination of Widmer 514 and Kilic teaches the elements of Claim 1 as described above. Widmer 514 further teaches:
wherein the transformation of the first digital signal and the second digital signal into the frequency domain is realized via a discrete Fourier transform. (Widmer 514 ¶ 0068 lines 3-5 “In the receiver, these tones and tones emanating from other positioning transmitters may be separated using Fast Fourier Transform Techniques,” teaching separating multiple frequency signals using Fast Fourier Transforms)
Regarding Claim 4, the combination of Widmer 514 and Kilic teaches the elements of Claim 1 as described above. Widmer 514 further teaches:
further comprising filtering the first digital signal and/or the second digital signal transformed into the frequency domain with a filter having a bandwidth around an excitation frequency of the positioning signal. (Widmer 514 ¶ 0050 lines 1-3 “The filter and matching circuit 226 filters out harmonics or other unwanted frequencies and matches the impedance of the transmit circuitry 206 to the transmit coupler 214,” teaching filtering out unwanted frequencies, and ¶ 0053 “The resonant frequency of the loop or magnetic couplers is based on the inductance and capacitance of the loop or magnetic coupler. […] For transmit couplers, the signal 358, oscillating at a frequency that substantially corresponds to the resonant frequency of the coupler 352, may be an input to the coupler 352. In some implementations, the frequency for inductive power transfer may be in the range of 20 kHz to 150 kHz,” teaching desired frequencies of 20 kHz to 150 kHz, analogous to the desired excitation frequencies described in the present specification ¶ 0045 of 10 kHz to 150 kHz, which are filtered around according to Widmer 514 ¶ 0050)
Regarding Claim 6, the combination of Widmer 514 and Kilic teaches the elements of Claim 1 as described above. Widmer 514 further teaches:
the first voltage signal is directly a first voltage dropping across the first sensor winding, and the second voltage signal is directly a second voltage dropping across the second sensor winding. (Widmer 514 ¶ 00132 lines 1-3 “In one system, the positioning receiver may use a bank of synchronous detectors to filter and detect each of the complex voltage components of each transmitted tone as received by each sense coil,”)
Regarding Claim 7, the combination of Widmer 514 and Kilic teaches the elements of Claim 1 as described above. Widmer 514 further teaches:
wherein the signal detector includes: a first oscillating circuit including the first sensor winding and a first capacitance; and a second oscillating circuit including the second sensor winding and a second capacitance. (Widmer 514 ¶ 0053 lines 1-8 “The resonant frequency of the loop or magnetic couplers is based on the inductance and capacitance of the loop or magnetic coupler. Inductance may be simply the inductance created by the coupler 352, whereas, capacitance may be added via a capacitor (or the self-capacitance of the coupler 352) to create a resonant structure at a desired resonant frequency, or at a fixed frequency set or prescribed by a particular operations standard. As a non-limiting example, a capacitor 354 and a capacitor 356 may be added to the transmit or receive circuitry 350 to create a resonant circuit that selects a signal 358 at a resonant frequency,” teaching that each loop may be tuned to a resonant frequency with a capacitor)
Regarding Claim 12, the combination of Widmer 514 and Kilic teaches the elements of Claim 1 as described above. Widmer 514 further teaches:
The method according to claim 1, wherein: the mobile inductive charging device and/or the stationary inductive charging device includes at least one flux guide; the at least one flux guide is configured to guide a magnetic field during an energy transmission between a first energy transmission winding of the mobile inductive charging device and a second energy transmission winding of the stationary inductive charging device; and the first sensor winding and the second sensor winding are arranged around the at least one flux guide. (Widmer 514 ¶ 00179 “FIG. 22 illustrates an orthogonal coil arrangement 2200 for a 3-axis generator or sensor, in accordance with some implementations. It uses three orthogonal coils 602, 604, 606. Typically, the coils 602, 604, 606 may have a few turns of relatively thin copper wire […] wound around a ferrite structure 2202. […] In a preferred implementation, the ferrite structure 2202 is shared by the IPT and MV systems. This allows for a large volume of the ferrite structure 2202 to capture larger amounts of magnetic flux and, thus, provide a more accurate indication of the alignment between the generator and sensor,”)
Regarding Claim 13, the combination of Widmer 514 and Kilic teaches the elements of Claim 12 as described above. Widmer 514 further teaches:
wherein the first radial longitudinal direction and the second radial longitudinal direction intersect in a region of an area spanned by the first energy transmission winding and/or the second energy transmission winding. (Widmer 514 ¶ 0069 lines 4-7 “FIGs. 4A, 4B, 4C, 4D assume a magnetic vectoring (MV) field generator and a MV field sensor are integrated with the IPT couplers in the base pad 402 and the vehicle pad 404 of a vehicle 406 in positions such that the magnetic centers of the respective IPT coupler and of the MV generator coincide,” teaching that the magnetic vectoring sense coils and transmission IPT coils have coinciding centers, placing the MV intersections within the span of the IPT coils)
Regarding Claim 15, the combination of Widmer 514 and Kilic teaches the elements of Claim 12 as described above. Widmer 514 further teaches:
wherein the first radial longitudinal direction and the second radial longitudinal direction extend parallel to a main direction of a plurality of magnetic field lines present during the energy transmission in the at least one flux guide in a region covered by the first sensor winding and/or the second sensor winding. (Widmer 514 ¶ 00179 “FIG. 22 illustrates an orthogonal coil arrangement 2200 for a 3-axis generator or sensor, in accordance with some implementations. It uses three orthogonal coils 602, 604, 606. Typically, the coils 602, 604, 606 may have a few turns of relatively thin copper wire […] wound around a ferrite structure 2202. […] In a preferred implementation, the ferrite structure 2202 is shared by the IPT and MV systems. This allows for a large volume of the ferrite structure 2202 to capture larger amounts of magnetic flux and, thus, provide a more accurate indication of the alignment between the generator and sensor,” the magnetic fields shown in as shown in Fig. 14)
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Regarding Claim 16, the combination of Widmer 514 and Kilic teaches the elements of Claim 2 as described above. Widmer 514 further teaches:
further comprising generating the positioning signal in the stationary inductive charging device and/or the mobile inductive charging device, (Widmer 514 ¶ 0061 lines 1-15 “A basic method of sensing the magnetic field for purposes of positioning assumes that at least one of a charging base or vehicle generates an alternating magnetic field that can be sensed by a sensor system, which may be either integrated into the vehicle charging unit or built into the charging base, respectively. […] In addition, in some implementations, the sense magnetic field may be generated using the same coil or the same coil arrangement that is used for IPT (e.g., the transmit coupler 274 of FIG. 2 or the transmit coupler 352 of FIG. 3),” teaching the inductive charging device being used to generate the positioning signal)
wherein: the stationary inductive charging device and/or the mobile inductive charging device includes at least two windings; a first winding of the at least two windings is an energy transmission winding; and a second winding of the at least two windings is a positioning signal winding. (Widmer 514 ¶ 0069 lines 4-7 “FIGs. 4A, 4B, 4C, 4D assume a magnetic vectoring (MV) field generator and a MV field sensor are integrated with the IPT couplers in the base pad 402 and the vehicle pad 404 of a vehicle 406 in positions such that the magnetic centers of the respective IPT coupler and of the MV generator coincide,” and ¶ 00181 lines 1-2 “In other implementations, a multi-axis generator or sensor uses a combination of at least one IPT coil and at least one magnetic vectoring coil,” teaching that the IPT and MV coils coincide, in combination, representing two windings)
Regarding Claim 17, the combination of Widmer 514 and Kilic teaches the elements of Claim 16 as described above. Widmer 514 further teaches:
wherein: the positioning signal winding is a solenoid (Widmer 514 ¶ 00181 lines 1-3 “In other implementations, a multi-axis generator or sensor uses a combination of at least one IPT coil and at least one magnetic vectoring coil. In some implementations, the x'-coil 602 is formed by […] a "Solenoid"- coil,”)
with a winding axis extending in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle and/or the target vehicle longitudinal direction; the stationary inductive charging device and/or the mobile inductive charging device includes at least one flux guide configured to guide a magnetic field during an energy transmission process between a further inductive charging device and the energy transmission winding; and the positioning signal winding encloses the at least one flux guide. (Widmer 514 ¶ 00179 and Fig. 22 as previously shown)
Regarding Claim 21, the combination of Widmer 514 and Kilic teaches the elements of Claim 1 as described above. Widmer 514 further teaches:
: the first sensor winding has an elongated cross-sectional shape with a first longitudinal extent along which the first radial longitudinal direction extends; and the second sensor winding has an elongated cross-sectional shape with a second longitudinal extent along which the second radial longitudinal direction extends. (Widmer 514 ¶ 0080 lines 1-23 and Fig. 22 as above showing the elongated cross-sectional shape of the windings along the first and second radial longitudinal directions.)
Regarding Claim 27, the combination of Widmer 514 and Kilic teaches the elements of Claim 1 as described above. Widmer 514 further teaches:
An inductive charging device, comprising a first sensor winding, a second sensor winding, (Widmer 514 ¶ 0080 lines 1-23 as described above)
a signal detector, ; (Widmer 514 ¶ 0061 lines 1-4 as described above)
and a signal evaluator (Widmer 514 ¶ 00170 as described above)
configured to carry out the method of claim 1. (Claim 1 as described above)
Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Widmer 514 in view of Kilic and further in view of Sawa et al (WO 2021201147, hereinafter “Sawa,” all citations and excerpts taken from the attached machine translation).
Regarding Claim 5, the combination of Widmer 514 and Kilic teaches the elements of Claim 1 as described above. Widmer 514 further teaches:
further comprising determining an averaged […] (Widmer 514 ¶ 00157 lines 1-4 “To further improve synchronization accuracy or increase robustness against noise and interference, estimation of the relative phasor may be further enhanced by using averaging techniques over consecutively detected output phasors (time sequences),” teaching averaging in phasor estimation which is contributes to the output relative positioning)
Widmer 514 does not teach:
[…] directional deviation value via forming an average from a plurality of directional deviation values.
Within the same field of endeavor as Widmer 514, Sawa teaches:
[…] determining an averaged directional deviation value via forming an average from a plurality of directional deviation values. (Sawa Pg 75 ¶ 1 lines 11-13 “In order to reduce the influence of noise, the moving average of the moving body position and posture data may be obtained,” a moving average body position and data being analogous to a series of directional deviation values from a plurality of values)
Widmer 514 and Sawa are considered analogous because they both relate to wireless transmission alignment. Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the directional vector data of Widmer 514 with the simple addition of Sawa’s moving average of the analogous position and posture data. This modification would be made with a reasonable expectation of success as motivated by reducing the influence of noise (Sawa Pg 75 ¶ 1 lines 11-13).
Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Widmer 514 in view of Kilic and further in view of Widmer et al (US 20170328740, hereinafter “Widmer 740,”).
Regarding Claim 9, the combination of Widmer 514 and Kilic teaches the elements of Claim 6 as described above. Widmer 514 does not teach:
wherein the signal detector includes at least one of a potential-free current measurement and/or a shunt measurement.
Within the same field of endeavor as Widmer 514, Widmer 740 teaches:
wherein the signal detector includes at least one of a potential-free current measurement and/or a shunt measurement. (Widmer 740 ¶ 0266 “In this case, each sense loop 2522e1 and 2522e1 are parallel tuned using resonance capacitors 2525e1 and 2525e2, respectively. The sense loop 2522e1 and resonance capacitor 2525e1 substantially determine the resonance frequency. A coupling capacitor 2527e common to all sense loops 2522e1 and 2522e2 is coupled in series with resonance capacitors 2525e1 and 2525e2. In one aspect, the coupling capacitor 2527e is the “larger” capacitor while each of the resonance capacitors 2525d1 and 2525d2 are the “smaller” capacitors. It is noted that with reference to FIG. 14A, a coupling circuit 1426A may include the coupling capacitor 2527e while each sense circuit may include the parallel tuned sense loop 2522e1 with resonance capacitor 2525e1,” emphasis added, teaching the use of parallel sense loops, directly analogous to shunt sense loops or shunt measurements, in resonant sensing circuits)
Widmer 514 and Widmer 740 are considered analogous because they both relate to magnetic resonance sensing. Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the MV sensing circuits of Widmer 514 with the simple addition of Widmer 740’s parallel sense loops in its resonant sensing circuitry. This modification would be made with a reasonable expectation of success as motivated by combining prior art elements (Widmer 514’s MV sensing circuit and Widmer 740’s sensing loop) according to known methods (Widmer 740’s parallel tuned sensing) to yield predictable results (sensing of resonant magnetic fields).
Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Widmer 514 in view of Kilic and further in view of Lee et al (WO 2013042988, hereinafter “Lee,” all citations and excerpts taken from the attached machine translation).
Regarding Claim 10, the combination of Widmer 514 and Kilic teaches the elements of Claim 1 as described above. Widmer 514 further teaches:
further comprising transferring the directional deviation value, an averaged directional deviation value, a first value derived from the directional deviation value, and/or a second value derived from the averaged directional deviation value, […] (Widmer 514 ¶ 0053 lines 1-12 “FIG. 15 illustrates vector polarity ambiguity in a system 1500 using a 2-axis generator and only relative phase synchronization, in accordance with some implementations. In FIG. 15 vector polarity is ambiguous, as indicated by the double- arrows in opposite directions. Using this representation, it becomes evident that one vector pair matches another vector pair at the antipodal point when rotated by ψ' = 180°. […] In some applications of vehicle positioning there may be no need for resolving this bi-ambiguity. This may be true for systems that, for purposes of guidance and alignment, displays the position of the charging spot as seen from the vehicle, e.g., on a dashboard display,” teaching the use of the calculated vector (directional deviation value) being used to display position on a dashboard display)
Widmer 514 does not teach:
[…] via a data interface, to a bus system.
Within the same field of endeavor as Widmer 514, Lee teaches:
[…] via a data interface, to a bus system. (Lee ¶ 0266 “The display unit 160 may be connected to the control unit 150 through a data bus to transmit information in both directions,” teaching the use of a data bus to transmit information in a vehicle charging system)
Widmer 514 and Lee are considered analogous because they both relate to vehicle charging systems. Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the transmittal of directional vector data to a dashboard display of Widmer 514 with the simple addition of Lee’s use of a data bus to transmit information in both directions between a control unit and a display unit, analogously applicable between the sensing unit and display of Widmer 514. This modification would be made with a reasonable expectation of success as motivated by combining prior art elements (Widmer 514’s dashboard display and sensing unit combined with Lee’s transmittal of information over a data bus) according to known methods (Lee’s use of a data bus) to yield predictable results (transmittal of directional information to a display).
Claim 26 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Widmer 514 in view of Kilic and further in view of Partovi (US 20190097448, hereinafter “Partovi,”).
Regarding Claim 26, the combination of Widmer 514 and Kilic teaches the elements of Claim 1 as described above. Widmer 514 further teaches:
wherein: the mobile inductive charging device and/or the stationary inductive charging device includes a […] flux guides; the […] flux guides are configured to guide a magnetic field during an energy transmission between a first energy transmission winding of the mobile inductive charging device and a second energy transmission winding of the stationary inductive charging device; […] (Widmer 514 ¶ 00179 “FIG. 22 illustrates an orthogonal coil arrangement 2200 for a 3-axis generator or sensor, in accordance with some implementations. It uses three orthogonal coils 602, 604, 606. Typically, the coils 602, 604, 606 may have a few turns of relatively thin copper wire […] wound around a ferrite structure 2202. […] In a preferred implementation, the ferrite structure 2202 is shared by the IPT and MV systems. This allows for a large volume of the ferrite structure 2202 to capture larger amounts of magnetic flux and, thus, provide a more accurate indication of the alignment between the generator and sensor,” the magnetic fields shown in as shown in Fig. 14)
Widmer 514 does not teach:
plurality of […] plurality of […] the plurality of flux guides are arranged circumferentially around a center of the first energy transmission winding and/or a center of the second energy transmission winding, and are disposed circumferentially spaced apart from one another; and the first sensor winding is arranged around a first flux guide of the plurality of flux guides and the second sensor winding is arranged around a different, second flux guide of the plurality of flux guides.
Within the same field of endeavor as Widmer 514, Partovi teaches:
wherein: the mobile inductive charging device and/or the stationary inductive charging device includes a plurality of flux guides; the plurality of flux guides are configured to guide a magnetic field during an energy transmission […] the plurality of flux guides are arranged circumferentially around a center of the first energy transmission winding and/or a center of the second energy transmission winding, and are disposed circumferentially spaced apart from one another; and the first sensor winding is arranged around a first flux guide of the plurality of flux guides and the second sensor winding is arranged around a different, second flux guide of the plurality of flux guides. (Partovi ¶ 0199 “The magnetic flux densities and the magnetic field orientation are also shown in FIG. 23. The magnetic flux flows or is guided in the switching layer and is funneled or directed to the receiver location by the presence of the receiver magnet. The arrows for the AC magnetic flux density lines are shown to guide the reader in the direction of the energy flow rather than show the vector direction since this field is AC and changes direction in every half cycle,” ¶ 0202 “In accordance with another embodiment, multi-pole magnets that have strong magnetic field strengths near the surface of the magnet with rapidly decreasing magnetic field strength away from the surface can be used. Some examples of multi-pole magnets are shown 380 in FIG. 26. Such magnets can provide magnetic aperture switching nearby, while maintaining weak magnetic field strengths farther away, thereby minimizing the effect on other materials, devices, etc. This feature may be especially important for use with devices such as GPS or compasses that use the weak magnetic field of the earth to detect the device orientation,” and Fig 26f shown below teaching the use of a plurality of magnetic flux guides arranged circumferentially used funnel magnetic flux to a receiver location, in a configuration similar to Fig. 11 of the present application, where incorporation with the device of Widmer 514 would place the sensor windings around different flux guides)
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Widmer 514 and Partovi are considered analogous because they both relate to wireless charging systems used on vehicles. Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the windings wrapped around a single flux guide of Widmer 514 with the simple substitution of Partovi’s circumferential wedge arrangement of flux guides, the incorporation of which would necessarily wrap the windings of Widmer 514 around different guides due to the circumferential arrangement. This modification would be made with a reasonable expectation of success as motivated according to MPEP 2143(I)(G) by providing magnetic aperture switching nearby, while maintaining weak magnetic field strengths farther away, thereby minimizing the effect on other materials, devices, etc such as GPS or compasses that use the weak magnetic field of the earth to detect the device orientation, as taught in Partovi ¶ 0202.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 22-25 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: Each of claims 22-24 differentiate the directional deviation value of Claim 1 from the relative position taught by Widmer 514 in the prior art. Each of claims 22-24 presents a different way of describing this differentiation, and each claim positively distinguishes the directional deviation value as a distinct entity from the more generally claimed relative position value value that is taught by Widmer 514. Claim 22 requires a directional deviation value proportional to the directional deviation angle and/or calculating the vehicle deviation angle from the directional deviation angle, which requires a clear distinction between the two values. Claim 23 describes a directional deviation value between -1 and 1, which obviously does not describe an angle or relative position. Claim 24 normalizes the comparison between first and second values, describing a process different from what is described within Widmer 514 and similar prior art.
Claim 25 depends upon Claim 24, which has been shown to be allowable.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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 nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) 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.
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/ZACHARY E. F. GLADE/Examiner, Art Unit 3664
/KITO R ROBINSON/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3664
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