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 .
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
Claims 6-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because claimed invention is directed to non-statutory subject matter. The claim(s) does/do not fall within at least one of the four categories of patent eligible subject matter because “A wireless power transmitter to a wireless power receiver” is a concept describing the functional relationship in a power communication system, not a single physical device.
The Examiner interprets the preamble as a system for the sake of applying the following prior art examination.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
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.
Claims 3-5 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. The recitation “during the slot” is not clear because the slot is a place not a timing entity.
The following art rejection is based on the opinion of European search report cited by the applicant. Although newly added amendments contain indefiniteness and non-statutory subject matters, the examiner interprets “during the slot” as - - during the time specified in the slot --; and the subject matter “A wireless power transmitter to a wireless power receiver” as -- A wireless power transmitter to a wireless power receiver system.
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.
Claim(s) 3-4 and 6-7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Ettes (US 2023/0017317)(one of the patent family members of EP3528364A1 the patent document used in European search report and cited by the applicant).
Regarding claim 3, US2023/0017317 discloses a method in a wireless power transfer system (FIG 1-6), the method performed by a wireless power transmitter (101) and comprising:
receiving, during a negotiation phase (¶[0236]), a Specific Request (SRQ) packet (SLOT_duration, ¶[0236]) from a wireless power receiver, wherein the SRQ packet includes information related to a time duration of a slot (¶[0236]));
entering a power transfer phase (¶[0199]); and
after entering the power transfer phase (¶[0199]), performing a foreign object detection (FOD) during the slot (¶[0203], ¶[0237]-[0265]).
Regarding claim 4|3, US2023/0017317 discloses the method wherein the wireless power transmitter terminates power transfer during the slot (¶[0093],[0128],[0190],[0218]).
Regarding claim 6, US2023/0017317 discloses a wireless power transmitter (101 in FIG 1) to a wireless power receiver (105 in FIG 1) system, comprising:
a power converter (¶[0108]-[0109] 201) for transferring wireless power to the wireless power receiver; and
a communicator/controller (¶[0110], 203 and 205) for controlling the wireless power, wherein the wireless power transmitter is configured for:
receiving, during a negotiation phase (¶[0236]), a Specific Request (SRQ) packet (SLOT_duration, ¶[0236]) from the wireless power receiver, wherein the SRQ packet includes information related to a time duration of a slot (¶[0236]); entering a power transfer phase (¶[0199]); and after entering the power transfer phase (¶[0199]), performing a foreign object detection (FOD) during the slot (¶[0203], ¶[0237]-[0265]).
Regarding claim 7|6, US2023/0017317 discloses the wireless power transmitter wherein the wireless power transmitter terminates power transfer during the slot (¶[0093],[0128],[0190],[0218]).
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) 5 and 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ettes
Regarding claims 5|4|3, 8|7|6, Ettes discloses the method and the system except wherein, based on no foreign object being detected, the wireless power transmitter transmits an acknowledgment (ACK) to the wireless power receiver and proceeds to a calibration phase.
As known in the art, ACK refers to a signal that a device sends to indicate that data has been received successfully in some digital communication protocols. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to use such a protocol in the system because such a usage would have been a mere and routine practice of setting up of digital communication protocol.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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 Joseph Chang whose telephone number is (571)272-1759. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7:00- 17:00.
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, Menatoallah M Youssef can be reached at 571-270-3684. 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.
/JOSEPH CHANG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2836
