Ex Parte Miller et al

Patent Trial and Appeal Board

Dec 13, 2018

13833838 (P.T.A.B. Dec. 13, 2018)

UNITED STA TES p A TENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
APPLICATION NO. FILING DATE
13/833,838 03/15/2013
35301 7590 12/17/2018
MCCORMICK, PAULDING & HUBER LLP
CITY PLACE II
185 ASYLUM STREET
HARTFORD, CT 06103
FIRST NAMED INVENTOR
Garold C. Miller
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
United States Patent and Trademark Office
Address: COMMISSIONER FOR PATENTS
P.O. Box 1450
Alexandria, Virginia 22313-1450
www .uspto.gov
ATTORNEY DOCKET NO. CONFIRMATION NO.
8185-0029-1 1036
EXAMINER
KEBEDE, TESSEMA
ART UNIT PAPER NUMBER
2859
NOTIFICATION DATE DELIVERY MODE
12/17/2018 ELECTRONIC
Please find below and/or attached an Office communication concerning this application or proceeding.
The time period for reply, if any, is set in the attached communication.
Notice of the Office communication was sent electronically on above-indicated "Notification Date" to the
following e-mail address(es):
patentdocket@ip-lawyers .com
PTOL-90A (Rev. 04/07)
UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
BEFORE THE PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD
Ex parte GAROLD C. MILLER and
NATHAN DANIEL WEINSTEIN
Appeal 2017-011636
Application 13/833,838
Technology Center 2800
Before TERRY J. OWENS, JAMES C. HOUSEL, and
SHELDON M. McGEE, Administrative Patent Judges.
OWENS, Administrative Patent Judge.
DECISION ON APPEAL
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
The Appellant (Halo2Cloud LLC) appeals under 35 U.S.C. § 134(a)
from the Examiner's rejection of claims 1, 2, 7, 8, 10-16, and 18-22. We
have jurisdiction under 35 U.S.C. § 6(b ).
The Invention
The claims are to a portable charger unit. Claim 1 is illustrative:
1. A portable charger unit for recharging at least
one electronic device having a rechargeable
internal battery, said portable charger unit
compns1ng:
a charger housing internally storing a
rechargeable battery;
Appeal 2017-011636
Application 13/833,838
at least one power input interface pivotably
connected to the charger housing for movement
between an extended position where said at least
one interface projects outwardly away from the
charger housing for use and a retracted position for
storage of said at least one interface within the
charger housing, said at least one power input
interface being operatively connected to the
internal battery for providing an electrical charge
from an external power source to the charger unit
when said at least one interface is operatively
engaged with said power source and for recharging
the internal battery when the charger unit is
connected to said power source in said manner;
and
at least one power output interface
operatively connected to the internal battery for
providing an electrical charge from the internal
battery to said at least one electronic device when
said at least one electronic device is connected to
the charger unit via the at least one power output
interface,
wherein said at least one power input
interface comprises:
a wall plug interface operatively connected to
the charger housing and configured for
engagement with a wall socket; and
a car charger interface operatively connected
to the charger housing and configured for
engagement with a car charger socket,
wherein both the wall plug interface and the
car charger interface are pivotable to respective
retracted positions and disposed within the general
footprint of the charger housing when in said
retracted positions, so that opposing side walls
of the charger housing enclose both the wall plug
interface and the car charger interface when in said
retracted positions.
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Appeal 2017-011636
Application 13/833,838
Chen
Krieger
The References
us 5,847,545
US 2007/0247105 Al
The Rejection
Dec. 8, 1998
Oct. 25, 2007
Claims 1, 2, 7, 8, 10-16, and 18-22 stand rejected under
35 U.S.C. § I03(a) over Krieger in view of Chen. 1
OPINION
We reverse the rejection. We need address only the independent
claims (1, 10, and 13).
Krieger discloses a portable battery charger comprising a housing (10)
containing 1) a controller (14) which controls operation of the portable
battery charger's components, and 2) a battery (20) which provides power to
a household battery charger ( 40) and to a portable DC power source for
operating external devices when other power sources are not available (i-f 12;
Fig. 2). The housing (10) has thereon 1) power input ports (15, 56) for DC
power from a cigarette lighter plug ( 16) and a wall cube ( 54) that converts
household AC to DC, and 2) a USB port (18) which supplies output power
1 We do not consider additional references relied upon by the Examiner
(Final Act. 6, 28) because they are not included in the statement of the
rejection and, therefore, are not properly before us. See In re Hoch, 428
F.2d 1341, 1342 n.3 (CCPA 1970). The Examiner's assertion that
Weng (US D616,363 S) "is added merely as evidence of the prior art
statement made by the examiner as to what is 'well known' in the art which
was challenged for the first time in the appeal brief' (Ans. 4) is not well
taken because the Examiner relies upon Weng as suggesting a claim
limitation missing from the applied references (Final Act. 6) and the
Appellant could not have challenged the Examiner's reliance upon Weng
before the Appeal Brief because the Examiner did not introduce that
reference until the Final Action (id.).
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Appeal 2017-011636
Application 13/833,838
and may include a voltage regulator for converting DC input power from a
12 V DC input or the battery (20) into a USB compatible 5V/500 mA DC
power output (i1i113, 14; Fig. 1).
Chen discloses a battery charger (10) with a housing or shell (22)
having attached thereto 1) an alternating current adapter (24) with two
prongs (26) that mate with a residential power outlet and, when not in use,
can be pivoted or retracted into the shell (22), and 2) a direct current
adapter (28) which plugs into a vehicle cigarette lighter receptacle and, when
not in use, can be pivoted adjacent to the shell (22) (col. 3, 11. 44--59; col. 4,
11. 4--16; col. 6, 11. 43-52; col. 7, 11. 43--47; Figs. 2, 4, 5, 11).
Claim 1
Claim 1 requires that "opposing side walls of the charger housing
enclose both the wall plug interface and the car charger interface when in
said retracted position."
The Examiner finds that modifying Chen's battery charger (10) such
that the direct current adapter (28) is retractable to the inside of the shell (22)
is "a simple variation" (Final Act. 5---6).
Setting forth a prima facie case of obviousness requires establishing
that the applied prior art would have provided one of ordinary skill in the art
with an apparent reason to modify the prior art to arrive at the claimed
invention. See KSR Int'! Co. v. Teleflex Inc., 550 U.S. 398,418 (2007).
The Examiner does not establish that Chen would have provided one
of ordinary skill in the art with an apparent reason to modify the direct
current adapter (28) as proposed by the Examiner. We therefore reverse the
rejection of claim 1 and its dependent claims.
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Application 13/833,838
Claim 10
Claim 10 requires that "the power connection port is capable of acting
as a power input and a power output depending on what is connected to the
charger unit via the power connection port."
The Examiner interprets Krieger's disclosure that "a voltage regulator,
optionally included in the USB port 18, may convert DC input power, for
example, from a 12 V DC input or the battery 20, into a USB compatible
SV/500 mA DC power output" (i113) as meaning that the USB port can
provide power input (Final Act. 3--4; Ans. 5-6).
That disclosure states that the USB port provides power output. The
power input comes from a 12 V DC input or the battery (20). Thus, the
Examiner has not set forth a factual basis that is sufficient to support a
conclusion of obviousness of the portable charger unit claimed in the
Appellant's claim 10. See In re Warner, 379 F.2d 1011, 1017 (CCPA 1967)
("A rejection based on section 103 clearly must rest on a factual basis, and
these facts must be interpreted without hindsight reconstruction of the
invention from the prior art"). Accordingly, we reverse the rejection of that
claim and its dependent claims.
Claim 13
Claim 13 requires that "said wall plug interface and said car charger
interface are stored within a common cavity formed within the charger
housing and are disposed in respective retracted positions within said cavity
without interfering with movement of the other interface to its respective
extended position."
Neither the Examiner's reason for rejecting claim 13 nor the
Examiner's response in the Examiner's Answer to the Appellant's
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Appeal 2017-011636
Application 13/833,838
arguments mentions the common cavity requirement (Final Act. 12-15;
Ans. 6). The Examiner includes a statement of that claim requirement in the
Examiner's response to the Appellant's arguments in the Final Action, but
the Examiner does not explain how Krieger and Chen would have suggested
it to one of ordinary skill in the art (Final Act. 28-29). The Examiner
merely states that "(Fig 11, shows both charger in extended position, and
they are retractable)" (Final Act. 28). Hence, the Examiner has not
provided a factual basis which is sufficient to support a conclusion of
obviousness of the portable charger unit claimed in the Appellant's claim 13.
See In re Warner, 379 F.2d at 1017. We therefore reverse the rejection of
that claim and its dependent claims.
DECISION
The rejection of claims 1, 2, 7, 8, 10-16, and 18-22 under
35 U.S.C. § 103(a) over Krieger in view of Chen is reversed.
The Examiner's decision is reversed.
REVERSED
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