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 .
DETAILED ACTION
This office action is a response to an application filed on 03/05/2026 in which claims 1-13 are pending and ready for examination.
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.
Claim(s) 1-2, 4 and 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over CN 112350445 A (hereinafter CN445) in view of Oshima et al (hereinafter Oshima) (US 2019/0305613 A1).
As to claims 1 and 13, CN445 discloses a power receiving apparatus for wireless receipt of power supply (see Fig 1), the power receiving apparatus comprising:
a power receiving coil (Fig 1, 1) configured to wirelessly receive external alternating-current power using magnetic coupling;
a first power supply unit (Fig 1, 2) comprising a rectifier circuit (Fig 2, 22) that is connected to the power receiving coil (Fig 1, 1) through a power supply line and is for converting the alternating-current power received by the power receiving coil into first direct-current power, the first power supply unit being configured to supply the first direct-current power to one or more loads (Fig 1, 3) as main power; and
a second power supply unit (Fig 1, 5) connected to an input stage of the first power supply unit.
CN445 does not disclose the second power supply unit connected to the power supply line in parallel to the first power supply unit, the second power supply unit being configured to output second direct-current power used for control of the first power supply unit. However, Oshima discloses the second power supply unit (Fig 2, 22B) connected to the power supply line in parallel to the first power supply unit (Fig 2, 22A), the second power supply unit being configured to output second direct-current power used for control (Fig 2, 23) of the first power supply unit. It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the power receiving apparatus of CN445 to include the second power supply unit as taught by Oshima in order to effectively detect whether a failure has occurred in the wireless power device (see parag [0072]).
As to claim 2, the combination of CN445 and Oshima discloses the power receiving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: the one or more loads are provided in a movable object (battery of the vehicle).
As to claim 4, the combination of CN445 and Oshima discloses the power receiving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: each of the second power supply unit (Fig 1, 5) and the immittance filter (Fig 2, 212) has an input stage; and the input stage of the second power supply unit is connected to the input side of the immittance filter or connected in parallel to the capacitor constituting the immittance filter (see Fig 2 configuration).
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.
Claim(s) 3, 5-7 and 11-12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over CN 112350445 A (hereinafter CN445) in view of Oshima et al (hereinafter Oshima) (US 2019/0305613 A1) further in view of Mukoyama et al (hereinafter Mukoyama) (US 2021/0384774 A1).
As to claim 3, the combination of CN445 and Oshima discloses the power receiving apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a filter unit (Fig 2, 212) provided between the power receiving coil and the rectifier circuit.
The combination of CN445 and Oshima does not disclose wherein: the filter unit is an immittance filter comprised of at least one reactor and a capacitor.
However, Mukoyama discloses the filter unit is an immittance filter comprised of at least one reactor and a capacitor (see Fig 1, 34). It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the power receiving apparatus of CN445 and Oshima to include the filter as taught by Mukoyama in order to effectively control the power provided to the load.
As to claim 5, the combination of CN445, Oshima and Mukoyama discloses the power receiving apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising: a short-circuit unit located at an input stage of the rectifier of the first power supply unit, the short-circuit unit being controlled by the second direct-current power supplied from the second power supply unit to cut off power supply to the rectifier circuit of the first power supply unit (CN445, see Fig 4, parag [0048]).
As to claim 6, the combination of CN445, Oshima and Mukoyama discloses the power receiving apparatus according to claim 3, wherein: the rectifier circuit of the first power supply unit is a synchronous rectifier circuit comprised of a pair of first and second power-supply lines and plural switches located on the first power-supply line, the power receiving apparatus further comprising: control means for performing short-circuit control to simultaneously turn on the plural switches located on the first power-supply line (CN445, see Fig 3, parags [0042], [0048]).
As to claim 7, the combination of CN445, Oshima and Mukoyama discloses the power receiving apparatus according to claim 6, wherein: the second power supply unit is configured to supply, to the control means, power required for the control means to perform the short-circuit control (CN445, see Fig 3, parags [0042], [0048]).
As to claim 11, the combination of CN445, Oshima and Mukoyama discloses a wireless power transfer system comprising: a power receiving apparatus according to claim 1; and a power transmission apparatus comprising a power transmission coil (Mukoyama, Fig 2, 23), when the power receiving coil (Mukoyama, Fig 2, 33) is located to be close to the power transmission coil, the power transmission coil being magnetically coupled to the power receiving coil to accordingly supply the alternating-current power to the power receiving coil.
As to claim 12, the combination of CN445, Oshima and Mukoyama discloses the wireless power transfer system according to claim 11, wherein: the power transmission apparatus comprises a transmitter resonance circuit comprised of the power transmission coil (Fig 2, 21) and a power transmission capacitor (Fig 2, 22); and the power receiving apparatus comprises a receiver resonance circuit comprised of the power receiving coil (Fig 2, 31) and a receiver capacitor (Fig 2, 32), the power receiving apparatus being configured to receive the alternating-current power through the receiver rectifier circuit, the alternating-current power having a frequency determined based on a resonance frequency between the transmitter and receiver resonance circuits (Mukoyama, Fig 2, parags [0030-0033]).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 8-10 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:
As to claim 8, the cited prior art alone or in combination fail to disclose:
“an insulating capacitor mounted on at least one of the first and second power- supply lines, wherein:
the second power supply unit comprises, in a sequence from an upstream side thereof, (i) a rectifier unit comprised of at least one diode and (ii) a stabilized power supply
comprised of:
a Zener diode connected to the first and second power-supply lines; and
a smoothing capacitor connected to the first and second power-supply lines in parallel to the Zener diode”.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see pages 7-9, filed on 03/05/2026, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) claims 1 and 13 under 102(a)(1) have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of CN445, Oshima and Mukoyama.
Conclusion
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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DUC M PHAM whose telephone number is (571)272-5026. The examiner can normally be reached 10:00 am - 6:00 pm, Monday to Friday.
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/DUC M PHAM/Examiner, Art Unit 2836 August 25, 2026
/TAELOR KIM/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2836
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