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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on October 08, 2024 is being considered by the examiner.
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities: Applicant is required to insert the Patent No. 12,145,457 of the related application onto the specification.
Appropriate correction is required.
Double Patenting
Double Patenting
The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP § 2146 et seq. for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
The filing of a terminal disclaimer by itself is not a complete reply to a nonstatutory double patenting (NSDP) rejection. A complete reply requires that the terminal disclaimer be accompanied by a reply requesting reconsideration of the prior Office action. Even where the NSDP rejection is provisional the reply must be complete. See MPEP § 804, subsection I.B.1. For a reply to a non-final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.111(a). For a reply to final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.113(c). A request for reconsideration while not provided for in 37 CFR 1.113(c) may be filed after final for consideration. See MPEP §§ 706.07(e) and 714.13.
The USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The actual filing date of the application in which the form is filed determines what form (e.g., PTO/SB/25, PTO/SB/26, PTO/AIA /25, or PTO/AIA /26) should be used. A web-based eTerminal Disclaimer may be filled out completely online using web-screens. An eTerminal Disclaimer that meets all requirements is auto-processed and approved immediately upon submission. For more information about eTerminal Disclaimers, refer to www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/applying-online/eterminal-disclaimer.
Claim 1 is rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claim 2 of U.S. Patent No. 12,145,457. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because they all disclosed the same subject matter. The corresponding claims that contain the same subject matter are mapped below:
Patent No. 12,145,457
Application No. 18/909,137
2. A device comprising:
a power transmitting coil for providing electric power;
a thermal sensor; and
a circuit operative to:
before start of transmitting first electric power for charging, causes the power transmitting coil to supply second electric power to a charging space;
causes the thermal sensor to detect whether temperature in the charging space increases after the second electric power is transmitted; and
before start of transmitting the first electric power, determines chargeability based on presence information and foreign object information, the presence information indicating whether a mobile object is present in the charging space, and the foreign object information indicating whether the temperature in the charging space increases.
1. A device comprising:
a power transmitting coil for providing electric power;
a thermal sensor; and
a circuit operative to:
before start of transmitting first electric power for charging, cause the power transmitting coil to supply second electric power to a charging space;
cause the thermal sensor to detect whether temperature in the charging space increases after the second electric power is transmitted;
before start of transmitting the first electric power, determines
chargeability based on presence information and foreign object information, the presence information indicating whether a mobile object is present in the charging space, and the foreign object information indicating whether the temperature in the
charging space increases, and
cause the power transmitting coil to transmit the first electric power in
a case the circuit determines chargeable, wherein
the second electric power is lower than the first electric power, and
the second electric power is supplied before the mobile object is located on the charging space.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TAI T. NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)272-2961. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri: 9am-6pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Quan-Zhen Wang can be reached at 571-272-3114. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/TAI T NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2685 January 2, 2026
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