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 § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(d):
(d) REFERENCE IN DEPENDENT FORMS.—Subject to subsection (e), a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, fourth paragraph:
Subject to the following paragraph [i.e., the fifth paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112], a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
Claims 10 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(d) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, 4th paragraph, as being of improper dependent form for failing to further limit the subject matter of the claim upon which it depends, or for failing to include all the limitations of the claim upon which it depends. Claim 10 depends from claim 9 and does not contain any limitation that further limits or defines claim 9. The preamble contains "An aircraft" but this has not been given patentable weight. Claim 15 depends from claim 14 and does not contain any limitation that further limits or defines claim 14. The preamble contains "An air vehicle" but this has not been given patentable weight. When reading the preamble in the context of the entire claim, the recitation an aircraft and an air vehicle is not limiting because the body of the claim describes a complete invention and the language recited solely in the preamble does not provide any distinct definition of any of the claimed invention’s limitations. Thus, the preamble of the claim(s) is not considered a limitation and is of no significance to claim construction. See Pitney Bowes, Inc. v. Hewlett-Packard Co., 182 F.3d 1298, 1305, 51 USPQ2d 1161, 1165 (Fed. Cir. 1999). See MPEP § 2111.02. Applicant may cancel the claim(s), amend the claim(s) to place the claim(s) in proper dependent form, rewrite the claim(s) in independent form, or present a sufficient showing that the dependent claim(s) complies with the statutory requirements.
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 1-6, 9-11, 13-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Liu et al. (US 2017/0183095 A1).
In regards to claim 1, Liu discloses, in figure 1, a method for sending energy with an energy beam (230) generated by a sender (200) to at least one airborne receiver (300) (Par 0015), the method comprising the steps of: targeting at least one energy receiving element (Fig. 2; 310) of at least one airborne receiver (300) (Par 0014-0015; “laser system 200 may include laser-aiming module 220. As an example and not by way of limitation, laser-aiming module 220 may be configured to aim laser beam 230 to be at least in part incident on a remotely located, continuously moving solar cell”); and sending an energy beam (230) from a sender (200) to the at least one energy receiving element (Fig. 2; 310) (Par 0015).
In regards to claim 2, Liu discloses, in figure 1, the method according to claim 1, wherein the energy beam (230) is a laser with a power exceeding 100 W (Par 0012).
In regards to claim 3, Liu discloses, in figure 1, the method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of: aligning an energy sending module (220) of the sender (200) with the at least one energy receiving element (Par 0017; laser-aiming module 220 may be configured to adjust a size or a shape of laser beam 230 to substantially match a size or a shape of solar cell 310A”).
In regards to claim 4, Liu discloses, in figure 1, the method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of: controlling an orientation of an energy sending element (Par 0016; “laser-aiming module 220 may include a telescope or a reflector, and adjusting the aiming of laser beam 230 may include moving or rotating at least a portion of the telescope or reflector. As an example and not by way of limitation, laser-aiming module 220 may include a fixed telescope and a rotatable reflector”) of the sender (200) with respect to the at least one energy receiving element (Fig. 2; 310) (Par 0016).
In regards to claim 5, Liu discloses, in figure 1, the method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of: receiving a tracking beam from the receiver (300) for targeting the at least one energy receiving element (Fig. 2; 310) (Par 0040; “UAV 300 may include one or more retroreflectors to reflect a portion of light from laser beam 230 back towards laser system 200. As an example and not by way of limitation, a retroreflector may be located near a center of solar cell 310, or solar cell 310 may have two or more retroreflectors located around the perimeter of solar cell 310. Camera 250 may capture an image with light from laser beam 230 reflected by the retroreflectors, and the reflected light may provide feedback information for adjusting the aiming of laser beam 230”).
In regards to claim 6, Liu discloses, in figure 1, the method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of: establishing an optical link between the sender (200) and the receiver (300) for locking the energy beam (230) onto the at least one energy receiving element (Par 0040-0041; “Camera 250 may capture light from one or more of the retroreflectors, and the aiming of laser beam 230 may be adjusted to maximize the amount of light reflected by the central retroreflector… controller 270 may receive images from camera 250 and determine whether laser beam 230 is incident on solar cell 310. When an image is captured that shows at least part of laser beam 230 incident on solar cell 310, controller 270 may cancel the conical scan and instruct laser-aiming module 230 to aim laser beam 230 based at least in part on the captured image showing laser beam 230 incident on solar cell 310” thus an optical link is established between the sender and receiver and locks the energy beam onto the solar cell based on images captured).
In regards to claim 9, Liu discloses, in figure 1, a device (210) for sending energy with an energy beam (230) to at least one airborne receiver (300), wherein the device (210) is configured to perform the method according to claim 1 (Par 0011).
In regards to claim 10, Liu discloses, in figure 1, an aircraft comprising: the device according to claim 9 (See the rejection of claim 9 above).
In regards to claim 11, Liu discloses, in figure 1, a method for receiving energy by an airborne receiver (300) in an energy beam (230) generated by a sender (200) (Par 0019), the method comprising the steps of: receiving an energy beam (230) with an energy receiving element (Fig. 2; 310) of a receiver (Par 0019); and converting the energy beam (230) for powering at least one energy sink (350) of the receiver (Par 0026; “power controller 340 may include a voltage converter to convert a direct-current (DC) voltage produced by solar cell 310 or 320 into a different DC voltage that is provided to battery 350”).
In regards to claim 13, Liu discloses, in figure 1, a device (340) for receiving energy to power an airborne receiver (300) with an energy beam (230), wherein the energy receiving device is configured to carry out the method according to claim 11 (Par 0026, 0028).
In regards to claim 14, Liu discloses, in figure 1, the device according to claim 13, wherein an energy receiving frequency of the energy receiving element (Fig. 2; 310) is configured to be tuned to a frequency of the energy beam (230) (Par 0034-0035; “laser beam 230 may be dithered by applying a sinusoidal modulation to the aiming of laser beam 230, where the aiming modulation has a frequency of approximately 100 Hz and an amplitude of approximately 1-5 microradians… a feedback signal indicating a position of laser beam 230 relative to solar cell 310 may include information corresponding to an amount of modulation of a voltage, current, or electrical power exhibited by solar cell 310 in response to dithering of the aiming of laser beam 230” thus an energy receiving frequency of the receiving element 310 is tuned to the frequency of the energy beam 230).
In regards to claim 15, Liu discloses, in figure 1, an air vehicle (Par 0009; “UAV 300 may be referred to as a drone, a remotely piloted aircraft, or an autonomous aircraft”) comprising: the device according to claim 14 (See the rejection of claim 14 above).
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.
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.
Claims 7-8 and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Liu et al. (US 2017/0183095 A1) in view of Parise et al. (US 2004/0142733 A1).
In regards to claim 7, Liu discloses the method according to claim 1, but does not disclose further comprising the step of: sending an initiation signal to the receiver for initiating an energy transfer to the receiver.
However, Parise discloses, in figure 11A, further comprising the step of: sending an initiation signal (19) to the receiver (PRS 44) for initiating an energy transfer to the receiver (Par 0079; “the PTU communication signal 19 is combined with the power beam 5 by a power transmitter equipped with components to encode data into the power beam”).
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Liu’s laser system by including the step of: sending an initiation signal to the receiver for initiating an energy transfer to the receiver as taught by Parise in order to enhance the safety, capability and flexibility of the remote power system (Parise; Par 0077).
In regards to claim 8, Liu discloses the method according to claim 1, but does not disclose further comprising the step of: receiving a request signal from the receiver requesting an energy transfer to the receiver.
However, Parise discloses, in figure 11A, further comprising the step of: receiving a request signal (9) from the receiver (PRS 44) requesting an energy transfer to the receiver (Par 0079; “The power unit communication receiver 50 activates the power unit controller 48 in response to receipt of an appropriate request contained in the PRS communication signal 9. The power unit controller 48 is a logic type device that verifies the received signal 9 is a request for power transmission”).
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Liu’s laser system by including the step of: receiving a request signal from the receiver requesting an energy transfer to the receiver as taught by Parise in order to enhance the safety, capability and flexibility of the remote power system (Parise; Par 0077).
In regards to claim 12, Liu discloses the method according to claim 11, but does not disclose further comprising the step of: aligning an energy receiving module of the receiver with the energy beam.
However, Parise discloses, in figure 11A, further comprising the step of: aligning an energy receiving module (54) of the receiver (44) with the energy beam (5) (Par 0067).
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Liu’s receiver by including the step of: aligning an energy receiving module of the receiver with the energy beam as taught by Parise in order to enhance the safety, capability and flexibility of the remote power system (Parise; Par 0077).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Olsson et al. (US 2017/0047790 A1); discloses a commercially available vehicle is modified by coupling a beamed-power transmission system to the vehicle's frame. The beamed-power transmission system is arranged to deliver beamed power to a remote device such as an unmanned aerial vehicle (i.e., UAV or drone). The cooling system of the vehicle is used to cool portions of the beamed-power transmission system. An aiming system aims a power beam produced by the beamed-power transmitter toward the remote device, and a stability system coupled to both the vehicle frame and the beamed-power transmission system maintains three-dimensional constancy of the power beam even when the vehicle frame is in motion. The commercially available vehicle may be an electric vehicle, a gas-electric hybrid vehicle, or the like having a power source that includes batteries, a fuel-cells, or a generator.
Tillotson et al. (US 2021/0143689 A1); discloses a transmitter for providing energy to a beam-powered aircraft includes an energy source that outputs an energy beam having an elongated cross-section, and a mount. The mount is operable to vary an azimuth and an elevation of the energy beam, and operable to rotate the energy beam about a central axis of the energy beam.
Candelore et al. (US 2024/0025544 A1); discloses an electronic apparatus and method for retransmission of signals using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) is disclosed. The electronic apparatus includes a controller to control a movement of a UAV to a location within a signal coverage area associated with a remote transmitter. The electronic apparatus further includes receiver circuitry disposed on the UAV to receive a first signal from the remote transmitter. The first signal corresponds to a first wireless communication standard. The electronic apparatus further includes a signal processor to process the first signal to obtain a second signal and transmission circuitry to control one or more antennas disposed on the UAV to transmit a beam of the second signal to an electronic device that includes one or more receivers. The second signal corresponds to a second wireless communication standard which is same as or different from the first wireless communication standard.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ALEX WONG LAM whose telephone number is (571)272-3409. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 7:30-5:00.
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/ALEX W LAM/ Examiner, Art Unit 2836
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