DETAILED ACTION
This Office action is in response to the response filed on 4/29/2026.
Claims 1-2, 7-9, 11-12, 14-16 and 18 are amended. Claims 1-20 are currently pending this application.
Specification
The specification amendment filed 4/29/2026 is accepted and entered.
Drawings
The specification amendment filed 4/29/2026 is accepted and entered.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
Every claim now recites the limitation of "a non-PoE power source directly connected to the PD consumer device" (Emphasis added). Applicant points to [0025] for support, however, it does not specifically support "a non-PoE power source directly connected to the PD consumer device". For purpose of this Office action, Examiner going to interpret this limitation as "a non-PoE power source connected to the PD consumer device".
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 1-4, 7-11 and 15-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Heath et al. (USPN: 2012/0303981), hereinafter, Heath.
As per claim 1, Heath teaches an apparatus, comprising:
a first interface to a first direct-current-to-direct-current (DC/DC) power converter, the first DC/DC power converter to convert power from a first Ethernet port to provide power over Ethernet (POE) through a first POE front-end (FE) circuit to a powered device (PD) consumer device; a second interface to a second direct-current-to-direct-current (DC/DC) power converter, the second DC/DC power converter to convert power from a second Ethernet port to provide POE through a second POE FE circuit to the PD consumer device (i.e. a system for providing power is provided to a powered device (PD) in a POE/POE+ environment. The system provides power to a power converter, such as a DC/DC converter 116 or 102, that generates a power output required by the PD. An eight-wire Ethernet connector, such as a Registered Jack-45 (RJ-45) connector, is used for providing electrical connection to the Ethernet cabling; See Fig. 2 and [0055], [0062]);
a non-PoE power source (i.e. the auxiliary power input (106)) connected to the PD consumer device (See Fig. 2 and [0055]); and
a control circuit to: cause redundant power to be selectively provided to the PD consumer device from one or more of the first Ethernet port and the second Ethernet port; when the non-PoE power source is inactive: determine a power characteristic of the first POE FE circuit and the second POE FE circuit; the power characteristic comprising at least one of voltage, current, energy or power (i.e. based on the PoE/PoE+ voltage and the auxiliary power source voltage; see [0066]); and based on the non-PoE power source being inactive and the first power characteristic of the first POE FE circuit and the second POE FE circuit, determine a first portion of power from the first DC/DC power converter to provide to the PD consumer device and a second portion of power from the second DC/DC power converter to provide to the PD consumer device (i.e. the system further includes a control circuit that controls the power converter and the minimum load current circuit to provide seamless switching between the PoE/PoE power supply input and the auxiliary power supply input. When the auxiliary power is removed, the control circuit manages the delivery of power to the load; see [0065]-[0070]).
As per claim 2, Heath further teaches that the control circuit is to, when the non-PoE power source is active, cause power to the PD consumer device from the first DC/DC power converter and the second DC/DC power converter to be disconnected (see [0069]-[0070]).
As per claim 3, Heath further teaches that the first DC/DC power converter and the second DC/DC power converter are to electrically isolate the PD consumer device from the first POE FE circuit and the second POE FE circuit (see [0071]-[0072]).
As per claim 4, Heath further teaches that the control circuit is to: cause measurement of a power characteristic of a secondary side of the first DC/DC power converter and of a secondary side of the second DC/DC power converter; and cause determination of a power characteristic of a primary side of the first DC/DC power converter and of a primary side of the second DC/DC power converter (see [0081] and [0086]).
As per claim 7, Heath further teaches that the control circuit is to communicate with the PD consumer device and determine power needs of the PD consumer device; the non-PoE power source, the first DC/DC power converter, and the second DC/DC power converter are connected to provide power to the PD consumer device in parallel; and the control circuit is to selectively enable a combination of the first DC/DC power converter and the second DC/DC power converter to power the PD consumer device (see [0066]-[0068]).
As per claims 8-11 and 14, refer to the rejection of claims 1-4 and 7, respectively. Claims 8-11 and 14 are also rejected based on same rationale as the rejection of claims 1-4 and 7, respectively.
As per claims 15-18, refer to the rejection of claims 1-4, respectively. Claims 15-18 are also rejected based on same rationale as the rejection of claims 1-4, respectively.
Remarks
The 4/29/2026 amendments to claims, specification and drawings have overcome the objections to claims, specification and drawings, respectively. Thus, those objections are withdrawn.
The 4/29/2026 amendments to claims have overcome the prior §112(b) rejection. Thus, they are withdrawn.
Applicant’s arguments with respect to rejections made using Huff prior art is moot as those rejections are withdrawn.
Examiner disagree with Applicant’s allegation that the auxiliary power input 106 of Heath is not directly connected to PD consumer device because (i) as indicated below in the 112(a) rejection above, the current spec does not support the newly added limitation of "a non-PoE power source directly connected to the PD consumer device", and (ii) Heath, in [0055], clearly discloses that “the system may include an auxiliary power supply channel 106 for providing power from an auxiliary AC or DC power source such as a wall transformer”.
Conclusion
Claims 1-20 are rejected
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 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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/HETUL B PATEL/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3992
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