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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Specification
The title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed.
The following title is suggested: “POWER FEEDER WITH VARIABLE POWER CONTROL”. Other similar titles indicative of the inventive features of the invention would also be appropriate.
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) 1-2, 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Matsubara (US2023/0253826) in view of Plekhanov (US2017/0271926).
Re claim 1. Matsubara teaches a power feeder (contactless power feeding facility <100>, see Matsubara Figs. 1-3), comprising:
at least one feed line (feeding lines <11>, see Matsubara: [0030], Fig. 3) extending along a travel path (movement path <1>) for a plurality of movable bodies (moving bodies <3>) to feed power to the plurality of movable bodies (see Matsubara: [0023], [0025], [0030], Figs. 1-3);
at least one power supply device (power supply circuits <51>, see Matsubara: [0031-0032], Fig. 3) connected to the at least one feed line to supply power to the at least one feed line; and
at least one control system (power supply control units <52>, see Matsubara: [0031-0032], Fig. 3) configured to control the at least one power supply device, the at least one control system comprising:
a controller (power supply control unit <52>, see Matsubara: [0030-0032], Figs. 1, 3 regarding control of power supply circuit power level supplied to respective feeding line by control of current/duty cycle to moving bodies in corresponding area near the respective feeding line along the overall travel path) configured to perform power control of power supplied from the at least one power supply device to the at least one feed line in response to movable bodies in at least one power feed area, wherein the at least one power feed area is an area in which the at least one feed line is disposed in the travel path. See Matsubara: [0023], [0025], [0030-0032], Figs. 1-3.
Matsubara does not explicitly disclose the control system further obtaining count information of number of movable bodies in the power feed area and reducing/increasing power responsive to decreasing/increasing number of movable bodies. Plekhanov, however, teaches that it is known in the art of similar wireless power transmission systems to moving reception devices passing over respective transmitter feed areas (see Plekhanov: [0044], [0116], [0119], Fig. 6) for the control system to include a count obtainer configured to obtain count information indicating a number of movable bodies in at least one power feed area (see Plekhanov: [0100], [0102-0104], Fig. 5 regarding respective controller detecting number of power receivers in power transfer region) and configured to perform, based on the count information, variable power control to reduce power supplied from the at least one power supply device to the at least one feed line in response to a decrease in the number of movable bodies in the at least one power feed area and to increase power supplied from the at least one power supply device to the at least one feed line in response to an increase in the number of movable bodies in the at least one power feed area (see Plekhanov: [0095-0096], [0102-0104], Fig. 5 regarding increasing/decreasing power level to respective transmitter transducer proportional to number of detected receivers in the respective region, i.e. increases power when number of receivers increases and decreases power when number of receivers decreases). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Matsubara to incorporate the teachings of Plekhanov by having the control system include capability to count number of movable bodies in corresponding power feed area and adjust power supply level to respectively decrease/increase based thereon as recited for purposes of predictably enabling the power transmission system to provide appropriate and sufficient amount of power corresponding to number of receiving devices that have respective power requirements from the system (see Plekhanov: [0102-0104]).
Re claim 2. Matsubara in view of Plekhanov teaches the power feeder according to claim 1, wherein: in the variable power control, the controller reduces power supplied from the at least one power supply device to the at least one feed line in response to the number of movable bodies in the at least one power feed area being less than or equal to a predetermined first threshold and increases power supplied from the at least one power supply device to the at least one feed line in response to the number of movable bodies in the at least one power feed area being greater than or equal to a predetermined second threshold, and the first threshold is less than the second threshold (see Plekhanov: [0102-0104] regarding power changed proportional to number of power receivers, i.e. a power decrease will correspond with decrease to 2 receivers and a power increase will correspond with increase to 3 receivers; note as drafted the claim does not forbid presence of multiple thresholds and respective increases/decreases).
Re claim 5. Matsubara in view of Plekhanov teaches the power feeder according to claim 1, wherein: the at least one power line comprises a plurality of feed lines extending along the travel path, the at least one power supply device comprises a plurality of power supply devices connected to the plurality of respective feed lines, and the at least one control system comprises a plurality of control systems configured to control the plurality of respective power supply devices, the at least one power feed area comprises a plurality of power feed areas defined to correspond to the plurality of respective feed lines, and the controllers in the plurality of control systems perform the variable power control independently of one another (see Matsubara: [0023], [0025], [0030-0032], Figs. 1, 3 regarding plurality of lines <11> and respective supply circuits <51> and control systems <52> with independent power control capability; see also similarly Plekhanov: [0096], [0102-0104], Fig. 5). Matsubara in view of Plekhanov disclose systems having movable bodies moving through the area, and it is implied that some reasonable amount of time would be required to determine the current number of movable bodies present in the area (see Plekhanov: [0102-0104]). It is therefore implied that the variable power control would not immediately occur if a movable body enters/exits quickly before the system can register the change in number of movable bodies, i.e. increase/decrease in number over time greater than a threshold, as recited. Alternatively, Official Notice is hereby taken that it is generally known for power transmission systems adapting to number of devices being supplied to determine number of devices present over a sufficient time window to avoid excessive rapid changes, and it would therefore have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to not perform the variable power control in the power feed area an increase or a decrease in a number of movable bodies per unit time is greater than or equal to a predetermined variable threshold as recited for purposes of avoiding excessive rapid changes or fluctuations in power depending on the desired response speed of the user’s application.
Claim(s) 3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Matsubara in view of Plekhanov, further in view of Non-Patent Literature: “Modeling and Phase Synchronization Control of High-Power Wireless Power Transfer System Supplied By Modular Parallel Multi-Inverters”, hereinafter Zhu.
Re claim 3. Matsubara in view of Plekhanov teaches the power feeder according to claim 1, wherein the at least one power supply device is capable of varying power as needed (see Plekhanov: [0102-0104], Fig. 5), but does not explicitly disclose the means for enabling variable power supply and using N power supplies to do so. Zhu, however teaches that it is known in the art of wireless power transmission systems to supply vehicles requiring different power level outputs to have the power supply device comprise N power supplies, where N is an integer greater than or equal to 2, and in the variable power control, the controller increases or reduces a number of power supplies in operation to increase or reduce power supplied from the at least one power supply device to the at least one feed line, where the number of power supplies in operation is, among the N power supplies, a number of power supplies supplying power to the at least one feed line (see Zhu: pgs. 6450-6451, Abstract, Fig. 1 regarding use of modular parallel multi-inverters/MPMIs providing different power levels by adjusting the number of MPMIs being used to supply the transmitter). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Matsubara in view of Plekhanov by implementing the variable power supply device using the known arrangement flexibly increasing/decreasing number of N power supplies in operation as taught by Zhu for purposes of providing known wireless power transmitter variable power supply means that predictably and equivalently allows the system to adjust the amount of power being transmitted, while also being convenient for higher power applications while providing flexible power levels (see Zhu: pgs. 6450-6451).
Claim(s) 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Matsubara in view of Plekhanov, further in view of Obayashi (US2026/0054587)
Re claim 6. Matsubara in view of Plekhanov teaches the power feeder according to claim 1, but does not explicitly disclose a movable body control system as recited. Obayashi, however, teaches that it is known in the art of wireless power transfer system for mobile object system to further comprise: a movable body control system configured to control the plurality of movable bodies, wherein the count obtainer obtains the count information from the movable body control system (see Obayashi: [0067], [0114-0119], Figs. 1, 3 regarding power-transfer management unit <400> controlling movement of the plurality of mobile objects <100> and also counting number of mobile objects in a segment). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Matsubara in view of Plekhanov to further incorporate the teachings of Obayashi by including movable body control system as recited for purposes of providing means to predictably control the movable bodies of the overall application and integrate with the power supply system (see Obayashi: [0067], [0114-0019], Figs. 1, 3). The combination of references would thereby suggest wherein the controller does not perform the variable power control until a predetermined set time elapses from activation of the movable body control system, given that a given amount of time would be required for activation of the control system and its counting function (see Obayashi: [0114-0119]), which would be necessary for subsequent variable power control.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4 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:
Claim 4 would be allowable over the prior art of record because the prior art of record, taken alone or in combination, does not teach, suggest, or render obvious a power feeder system as recited in claims 1 and 3, further comprising: “a movable body control system configured to control the plurality of movable bodies, wherein the movable body control system performs count control to limit a number of movable bodies entering the at least one power feed area in response to a decrease in the number of power supplies in operation resulting from one or more of the N power supplies being unable to supply power to the at least one feed line, and wherein the movable body control system does not perform the count control in response to a decrease in the number of power supplies in operation under the variable power control”. As discussed above, Matsubara, Plekhanov, and similar prior art of record teach power feeder systems for movable bodies that include variable power transmitter control based on number of movable power receivers counted in the area. Although prior art such as Zhu generally discloses variable power supply systems which adjust number of N operational power supplies based on desired power level, and prior art systems such as Obayashi and similar prior art such as Takasaki (US2023/0302937) teach movable body control systems which can generally limit the number of movable bodies entering an area generally based on power requirements/capacity, the prior art does not sufficiently teach or suggest the combination of required features as recited including having variable power control using N power supplies, performing count control to limit number of movable bodies entering the power feed area in response to a decrease in the number of N power supplies resulting from one of the N supplies being unable to supply power independent of the variable power control. Claim 4, in light of Applicant’s Specification and Drawings and upon incorporation of the intervening claims, would therefore overcome the cited prior art of record.
Conclusion
In summary, it is recommended Applicant consider the indicated allowable subject matter and take appropriate steps to ensure the claims incorporate features that would be sufficiently distinguished and nonobvious over the prior art of record under broadest reasonable interpretation. General arrangement for movable body power feeding system as well as variable power supply scaling with number of reception devices appear to be known and obvious in light of the prior art, but further features combining specific control of the mobile bodies in response to particular conditions of the N power supply system as recited in claim 4 appear to be beyond what is suggested by the prior art.
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Choi (US2012/0049644), Porat (US2016/0043563), Telefus (US2014/0266029) also disclose power feeding systems which adjust power level corresponding to number of receivers. Takasaki (US2023/0302937) discloses power feeding system generally limiting movable power receiving devices in an area based on system capacity.
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/DAVID A SHIAO/Examiner, Art Unit 2836 /REXFORD N BARNIE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2836
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