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
Claims 3-4 and 16-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 3 and 16 recites the dividing parts are configured “to operate as a capacitor respectively.” It is unclear what structural limitation is being imposed on the electronic device by said limitation.
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.
Claims 1-3, 5-11, 14-16 and 18-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Akuzawa et al. (US 20170163093) in view of Ichikawa (US 20190386389).
With respect to claims 1 and 14 Akuzawa teaches an electronic device comprising: a resonator; a power circuit configured to provide power to the resonator (Fig. 1: 2a); an antenna (2b); a high-frequency source (see frequency generated by inverter 121b) configured to provide power to the antenna; and a controller (12b/122b), comprising circuitry, wherein the controller is configured to cause the electronic device to: control the power circuit to provide first power having a first frequency (6.78MHz) to the resonator to wirelessly provide power to an external wireless power reception device (4); control the high-frequency source to provide at least one second power having a frequency (13.56MHz) different from the first frequency to the antenna; identify at least one phase of impedance (see impedance being difference between voltage and current, see paragraph 0028) corresponding to the antenna (2b) while (see reflection which occurs after transmission) the at least second power is applied to the antenna; and identify a type (paragraph 30-32) of an external object adjacent to the electronic device, based on the at least one phase, and wherein the antenna includes an antenna. Akuzawa does not describe the current flow within the antenna. Ichikawa teaches the detailed makeup of an antenna including the known configuration such that currents in the same direction (see for example paragraph 0037) are formed by the at least one second power. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to modify Akuzawa to include the know configuration and current flow as seen in Ichikawa for the benefit of reducing mutual interference (paragraph 0077).
With respect to claim 2-3 and 15-16 Ichikawa teaches the antenna comprises a plurality of sub-antennas and a plurality of dividing parts (see portions and separations of portions for example paragraph 0036, 81-87).
With respect to claim 5 and 18 Ichikawa teaches the antenna corresponds to a form of the resonator by the plurality of sub-antennas (see geometry see for example in Fig. 1).
With respect to claim 6 and 19 Ichikawa teaches the antenna is formed in a ring shape by the plurality of sub-antennas (see surrounding with a central region for example Fig. 1).
With respect to claim 7 Akuzawa teaches the controller is configured to control the high-frequency source to provide the at least one second power having the frequency different from the first frequency to the antenna in a period overlapping (see Fig. 2 for example paragraphs 0039-43) at least partly with a period in which the first power is applied to the resonator.
With respect to claim 8 Akuzawa teaches the one second power comprises power having a second frequency (13.56MHz), and wherein the controller is configured to: identify a plurality of phases (differences in V-I showing differing types of objects) of the impedance corresponding to the antenna at a plurality of time points (see variations shown in Fig. 4) while the power having the second frequency is applied to the antenna; and identify the type (paragraph 0021) of the external object adjacent to the electronic device, based on the plurality of phases at the plurality of time points.
With respect to claim 9 Akuzawa teaches identify a first phase of the impedance (see paragraph 0048 difference between V and I) corresponding to the antenna at a first time point (for example operations during no foreign object present see Fig. 4c) and identify a second phase of the impedance (see during object detection see changes caused by detection of object seen as signal detection Fig. 4) corresponding to the antenna at a second time point after the first time point while the power having the second frequency is applied to the antenna; and identify the type of the external object adjacent to the electronic device as a first type (human hand), based on a level of the second phase being smaller by a specified level (see 124b and small enough to trigger the stored pattern level of 123) or more than a level of the first phase.
With respect to claim 10 Akuzawa teaches identifying a type of external object adjacent to the electronic device as a second type (metal), based on the level of the second phase being maintained in a designated range (range to be detected by 2b) comprising the level of the first phase.
With respect to claim 11 and 20 Akuzawa teaches the first type is a human body (persons hand), and wherein the second type is a conductor (metal see paragraph 0021-22).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 4, 17, 12 and 13 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 and overcoming the 112 rejections identified above. The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
With respect to claim 4 and 17 the cited prior art teaches the dividing parts however does not teach the plurality of dividing parts is provided in an interdigital capacitor structure by the plurality of sub-antennas. At least this further limitation is not taught or rendered obvious by the prior art of record.
With respect to claim 12 and 13 Akuzawa teaches the controller however does not teach wherein the controller is configured to: identify a plurality of first phases of the impedance corresponding to the antenna at a plurality of time points while the power having the second frequency is applied to the antenna; identify a plurality of second phases of the impedance corresponding to the antenna at a plurality of time points while the power having the third frequency is applied to the antenna; and identify the type of the external object adjacent to the electronic device, based on the plurality of first phases and the plurality of second phases. At least this further limitation is not taught or rendered obvious by the prior art of record.
Conclusion
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MICHAEL FIN
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2836
/MICHAEL R. FIN/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2836
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