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 § 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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-5, 9-11, 13-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Sun et al (US 20160291663, Sun).
As to claim 1, Sun discloses a Universal Serial Bus (USB) power and data delivery system, comprising:
a first USB Type-C connector (fig. 4 par 41 “connectors”);
first converter circuitry (circuitry 412), the first converter circuitry including:
a first controller (controller 434) having a first electrical interface (interface 408) configured to electrically couple to a CC wire of the first USB Type-C connector (“CC” 416), the first controller being configured to send and receive data via the first electrical interface (par. 45); and
a first bi-directional voltage converter (converter 428, 460) having an input and an output (to switch 492), the first voltage converter being configured to receive a first voltage at the input and to output a second voltage at the output, and allowing power to flow in two directions (par. 43), the input of the first voltage converter is configured to be electrically coupled to a V -bus wire of the first USB Type-C connector (fig. 4 “Vbus”) and the output of the first voltage converter is configured to be electrically coupled to a power transmission wire (wire 426);
a second USB Type-C connector (par 41 “other connectors”);
second converter circuitry (circuitry 414), the second converter circuitry including:
a second controller (controller 435) having a second electrical interface (interface 410) configured to electrically couple to a CC wire of the second USB Type-C connector (“CC” 418), the second controller being configured to send and receive data via the second electrical interface (par. 49); and
a second bi-directional voltage converter (converter 429, 466) having an input and an output, the second voltage converter being configured to receive the second voltage at the input and to output a third voltage at the output (par. 46), and allowing power to flow in two directions, the input of the second voltage converter is electrically coupled to the power transmission wire to electrically couple the first and second voltage converters (par. 46-47) and the output of the first voltage converter is configured to be electrically coupled to a V bus wire of the second USB Type-C connector (“Vbus” 422),
wherein the first and second converter circuitry are electrically disposed between the first and second USB Type-C connectors (fig. 4), and
wherein the first USB Type-C connector is configured to electrically couple to a first device (device 402) and the second USB Type-C connector is configured to electrically couple to a second device (device 404) to electrically interpose the first and second converter circuitry between the first and second devices to facilitate power delivery from the first device to the second device via the first and second converter circuitry (par. 10).
As to claim 2, Sun discloses the USB power and data delivery system of claim 1, wherein the first electrical interface is bidirectional (par. 43).
As to claim 3, Sun discloses the USB power and data delivery system of claim 1, wherein the second electrical interface is bidirectional (par 47-48).
As to claim 4, Sun discloses the USB power and data delivery system of claim 1, wherein the first electrical interface is connected to the second interface with a cable comprised of fiber optic (par 42, “optic fiber”).
As to claim 5, Sun discloses the USB power and data delivery system of claim 1, wherein the first electrical interface is connected to the second interface with a cable comprised of copper (par. 42 “copper”).
As to claim 9, Sun discloses the USB power and data delivery system of claim 1, wherein the first controller sends and receives data bidirectionally (par. 45 “send and receive information/data on CC wire 416”).
As to claim 10, Sun discloses the USB power and data delivery system of claim 1, wherein the second controller sends and receives data bidirectionally (par. 49 “send and receive information/data on CC wire”).
As to claim 11, Sun discloses a method of bi-directionally delivering power and data via a Universal Serial Bus (USB) cable, the method comprising:
in a forward mode:
receiving, by first converter circuitry (fig. 4 circuit 412), a first voltage and a first electrical current (of Vbus 420) from a first device (device 402) electrically coupled to the first converter circuitry via a V -bus wire (“Vbus”) associated with a first USB connector (par. 41 “connectors”);
sending and receiving data through the first converter circuitry (par. 45, “send and receive information/data”);
outputting, from the first converter circuitry, a second voltage and a second electrical current on a power transmission wire (wire 426), the second voltage being greater than the first voltage (par. 43 “greater than”) and the second electrical current being less than the first electrical current (par. 43);
receiving, by second converter circuitry (circuit 414), the second voltage and the second electrical current via the power transmission wire (wire 426); and
outputting, from the second converter circuitry, a third voltage and a third electrical current (Vbus 422) to a second device (device 404) via a V -bus wire (wire 422) associated with a second USB connector (par. 41 “other connectors”),
in a reverse mode:
receiving, by the second converter circuitry, a fourth voltage and a fourth electrical current from the second device electrically coupled to the second converter circuitry via the V bus wire associated with the second USB connector (par. 47 “input 468”);
sending and receiving data through the second converter circuitry (par. 45);
outputting, from the second converter circuitry, a fifth voltage and a fifth electrical current on the power transmission wire, the fifth voltage being greater than the fourth voltage (par. 47 “greater than”) and the fifth electrical current being less than the fourth electrical current (par. 47);
receiving, by first converter circuitry, the fifth voltage and the fifth electrical current via the power transmission wire (par. 43 “input 462”); and
outputting, from the first converter circuitry, a sixth voltage and a sixth electrical current to the first device via the V -bus wire associated with the first USB connector (“output 464”),
wherein the first and second converter circuitry are electrically disposed between the first and second USB connector (see fig. 4), and
wherein the first USB connector is configured to electrically couple to the first device and the second USB connector is configured to electrically couple to the second device to electrically interpose the first and second converter circuitry between the first and second devices to facilitate power delivery from the first device to the second device via the first and second converter circuitry in forward mode and to facilitate power delivery from the second device to the first device via the first and second converter circuitry in reverse mode (par. 41 “facilitate”).
As to claim 13, Sun discloses the method of claim 11, wherein the second voltage level is set by a controller (par. 45 controller 434).
As to claim 14, Sun discloses the method of claim 11, wherein the fifth voltage level is set by a controller (par. 49).
As to claim 15, Sun discloses the method of claim 11, wherein the sending and receiving of data through the first converter circuitry is bidirectional (par. 45).
As to claim 16, Sun discloses the method of claim 11, wherein the sending and receiving of data through the second converter circuitry is bidirectional (par. 49).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
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 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sun in view of Shastri et al (US 20100316388, Shastri).
As to claim 6, Sun discloses the USB power and data delivery system of claim 1, but does not disclose wherein the first electrical interface is connected to the second interface with a cable comprised of a combination of fiber optic and copper wire. In the same field of art (peripheral configuration), Shastri discloses an HDMI interconnect arrangement performing a pulse-amplitude modulation (PAM) conversion of the TMDS audio/video signals in order to simultaneously transmit all three channels over a single optical fiber (abstract). In one embodiment, Shastri further discloses a first electrical interface is connected to a second interface with a cable comprised of a combination of fiber optic and copper wire (par. 10). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Sun and Shastri by comprising the first electrical interface to be connected to the second interface with a cable comprised of a combination of fiber optic and copper wire. The motivation is to improve the performance of the system (par. 7-8).
Claims 7-8, 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sun in view of Komiyama et al (US 20220199051, Komiyama).
As to claim 7, Sun discloses the USB power and data delivery system of claim 1, but does not disclose wherein the first controller electrically couples the CC wire through a logic circuit to two different voltages. In the same field of art (peripheral configuration), Komiyama discloses an information processing apparatus includes a first and a second processor, and a display interface including a configuration channel (CC) signal line (abstract). In one embodiment, Komiyama further discloses a controller electrically couples the CC wire (fig. 2, “CC”) through a logic circuit (switch 161) to two different voltages (par. 39 “High or Low”). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Sun and Komiyama by comprising the first controller electrically coupling the CC wire through a logic circuit to two different voltages. The motivation is to improve the functionality of the system (par. 3).
As to claim 8, Sun discloses the USB power and data delivery system of claim 1, but does not disclose wherein the second controller electrically couples the CC wire through a logic circuit to two different voltages. In the same field of art (peripheral configuration), Komiyama discloses an information processing apparatus includes a first and a second processor, and a display interface including a configuration channel (CC) signal line (abstract). In one embodiment, Komiyama further discloses a controller electrically couples the CC wire (fig. 2, “CC”) through a logic circuit (switch 161) to two different voltages (par. 39 “High or Low”). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Sun and Komiyama by comprising the second controller electrically coupling the CC wire through a logic circuit to two different voltages. The motivation is to improve the functionality of the system (par. 3).
As to claim 12, Sun discloses the method of claim 11, but does not disclose wherein forward or reverse mode is asserted by a controller electrically coupled to the CC wire or to a logic circuit. In the same field of art (peripheral configuration), Komiyama discloses an information processing apparatus includes a first and a second processor, and a display interface including a configuration channel (CC) signal line (abstract). In one embodiment, Komiyama further discloses wherein forward or reverse mode is asserted by a controller (display 20) electrically coupled to the CC wire or to a logic circuit (fig. 2, par. 39). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Sun and Komiyama by comprising forward or reverse mode to be asserted by a controller electrically coupled to the CC wire or to a logic circuit. The motivation is to improve the functionality of the system (par. 3).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DEAN PHAN whose telephone number is (571)270-1002. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri, 7:00AM-4:00PM.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Henry Tsai can be reached at 571-272-4176. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/D.P/ Examiner, Art Unit 2184
/HENRY TSAI/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2184
Prosecution Insights