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 .
This Office Action responses to the Application filed on 06/04/2025.
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). The certified copy has been filed in parent Application No. JP 2024-102019, filed on 06/25/2024.
Claims 1-6 are pending for examination.
Requirement for Information
Examiner requests under 37 CFR 1.105 the Applicant submit with the response to this Office Action (1) the legal status of any co-pending or related foreign patent application filed by the assignee or inventor(s) of this instant case and that is relevant to the prosecution of this case, and (2) the international search report, if any, of the copending or related foreign patent application. This request is necessary for the Examiner to consider possible foreign or non-patent literature that may be germane to patentability of the claimed invention.
Applicant is reminded replies to requirements for information must be complete and filed within the time period set including any extension. Failure to reply within the time period set will result in the abandonment of the application. MPEP § 704.12.
Examiner’s Note
In the case of amending the claimed invention, Applicant is respectfully requested to indicate the portion(s) of the specification which dictate(s) the structure relied on for proper interpretation and also to verify and ascertain the metes and bounds of the claimed invention.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claim(s) 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
Regarding claim 5, the preamble recites “rectifier cable”. However, the limitation “wherein the rectifier unit is arranged between the antenna and the antenna-side connector” indicates the rectifier is a separate unit from the cable. The third embodiment in specification does not clearly teach whether the rectifier is part of the cable.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claim(s) 5 is/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.
Regarding claim 5, the preamble recites “rectifier cable”. However, the limitation “wherein the rectifier unit is arranged between the antenna and the antenna-side connector” indicates the rectifier is a separate unit from the cable. Therefore, the scope of the claim is unclear. It also conflicted with limitations in claim 2.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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.
Claim(s) 1-4 and 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by ESCALONA et al., US Patent Publication 20180280708; hereinafter “ESCALONA”.
Regarding claim 1, ESCALONA discloses a rectifier cable (Fig. 1-14), comprising:
a cable main body (Fig. 2, between coil 25 and Power management system 29; Figs. 9 and 14) electrically connected to a control board (Fig. 2, 29); and
a rectifier unit (Fig. 9, diodes in the portion 64; Fig. 14, distributed rectifier diodes) [0266] that is electrically connected to the cable main body (Figs. 9 and 14) and electrically connected to an antenna (Fig. 2, coil 25) capable of transmitting and receiving a power transmission signal [0226] so as to rectify an AC signal input from the antenna to a DC signal and output the DC signal to the cable main body [0226] .
Regarding claim 2, ESCALONA discloses the rectifier cable according to claim 1 above, ESCALONA also discloses the rectifier cable further comprising:
a board-side connector electrically connected to the control board (Fig. 2, connection that connect the cable and the Power management system 29; e.g. “suitable connectors such as wires” [0046]); and
an antenna-side connector electrically connected to the antenna (connection that connect the cable and the coil 25; e.g. “suitable connectors such as wires” [0046]).
Regarding claim 3, ESCALONA discloses the rectifier cable according to claim 2 above, ESCALONA also discloses the rectifier unit (Fig. 2, 35; Figs. 9 and 14) is arranged between the antenna-side connector (connection that connect the cable and the coil 25; e.g. “suitable connectors such as wires” [0046]) and the board-side connector (Fig. 2, connection that connect the cable and the Power management system 29; e.g. “suitable connectors such as wires” [0046]).
Regarding claim 4, ESCALONA discloses the rectifier cable according to claim 2 above, ESCALONA also discloses the rectifier unit is arranged between the antenna-side connector (connection that connect the cable and the coil 25; e.g. “suitable connectors such as wires” [0046]) and the cable main body (Figs. 9 and 14, 62).
Regarding claim 6, ESCALONA discloses a rectifier connector (Fig. 1-14), comprising:
a board-side connector electrically connected to a control board (Fig. 2, connection that connect the cable and the Power management system 29; e.g. “suitable connectors such as wires” [0046]);
an antenna-side connector electrically connected to an antenna (connection that connect the cable and the coil 25; e.g. “suitable connectors such as wires” [0046]) capable of transmitting and receiving a power transmission signal [0226]; and
a rectifier unit (Fig. 9, diodes in the portion 64; Fig. 14, distributed rectifier diodes) [0266] that is electrically connected to the board-side connector at one end (Fig. 2, connection that connect the cable and the Power management system 29; e.g. “suitable connectors such as wires” [0046]) and also electrically connected to the antenna-side connector at another end (connection that connect the cable and the coil 25; e.g. “suitable connectors such as wires” [0046]), rectifies an AC signal input from the antenna through the antenna-side connector (connection that connect the cable and the coil 25; e.g. “suitable connectors such as wires” [0046]) to a DC signal and outputs the DC signal [0226] to the control board through the board-side connector (Fig. 2, connection that connect the cable and the Power management system 29; e.g. “suitable connectors such as wires” [0046]).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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) 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over ESCALONA in view of Saita, US Patent Publication 20180281610; hereinafter “Saita”.
Regarding claim 5, ESCALONA discloses the rectifier cable according to claim 2 above, ESCALONA does not disclose the rectifier unit is arranged between the antenna and the antenna-side connector. Saita discloses a wireless power transfer system having a rectifier arrange at the end of a cable (Fig. 1, rectifier is arranged between cable 48 including its connection and the antenna 12). 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 ESCALONA to incorporate the teaching of Saita and arrange the rectifier unit is arranged between the antenna and the antenna-side connector. Doing so would ease the replacement of a defect rectifier without replacing the cable.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to THAI H TRAN whose telephone number is (571)270-0668. The examiner can normally be reached M - F 8:30 - 5:00.
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/THAI H TRAN/Examiner, Art Unit 2836
/REXFORD N BARNIE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2836