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 .
DETAILED ACTION
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group I, Claims 1-8, 12 in the reply filed on 11/3/2025 is acknowledged.
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant's claim for foreign priority based on an application filed in Korea on 5/26/2020.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the second paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112:
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 5 is 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 pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention. Claim 5 recites ‘in normal times’ and ‘fundamentally’, which causes one of ordinary skill in the art to doubt the metes and bounds of the claim. [0042] of the instant specification seems to indicate that ‘normal times’ is the default behavior while a user could press buttons to change settings that would allow for different behavior. Although the written description is not lacking, it is confusing to have a claim that mentions normal times without any mention of what determines normal times or any comparison to alternate conditions.
Claim 5 recites the limitation "the meter function". There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 5 recites the limitation "the relay function". There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
The claim is rendered indefinite as it is unclear if the meter and relay functions are new elements to claim 5 or if the dependency of the claim is wrong and the claim is intended to depend from another claim (for example, claim 1). For the purposes of examination, claim 5 will be interpreted as “the meter function” and “the relay function” are interpreted as “a meter function and “a relay function”, respectively.
Claim 12 is also rejected for depending upon an indefinite claim.
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 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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1, 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by KR100637806B1 (of record from IDS filed 11/22/2022, hereinafter KR)
Claim 1. KR teaches an electric device mounted on a supporting body, the electric device
comprising:
a first display (left of figs 5, 6) and a second display (right of figs 5, 6), which are configured in a same housing (figs 5, 6) and are facing a front (figs 5, 6),
wherein one of the first display and the second display provides a rectangular horizontal screen (written characters) and displays information about a meter function (fig 5 indicates ‘METER’), and
the other of the first display and the second display provides a rectangular vertical screen (waves, specification recites ‘Second measurement information is a basic wave component of the voltage, current to be measured to the protective relay’) and displays information about a relay function (fig 5 indicates ‘RELAY’).
Claim 6. (Currently Amended) The electric device of claim 1, wherein the information about the meter function comprises waveform information (specification recites ‘One kinds of measurement information that is the rms value and the functions of the meter panel should display the voltage, current, power, energy, phase, etc’), and
the information about the relay function comprises a distribution diagram (specification recites ‘Second measurement information is a basic wave component of the voltage, current to be measured to the protective relay’) and state information of a circuit breaker (second last paragraph of the specification recites ‘a time delay over-current relay (OCR: Over Current Relay) to represent, 50G is instantaneous ground overcurrent relays (OCGR: Ground Over Current Relay) to represent, 51G is poetry ground overcurrent relays (OCGR: Ground Over Current Relay) to represent, 67G is optional ground relay (SGR: represents the Selective Ground Relay), breaker represents the breakers, Trip means the blocking and, Close means a commitment and, status Check will mean the status check circuit breaker operation and, breaker Operation is low because a lot of display that input of the circuit breaker’, see also fig 5).
Claim 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by KR101713076B1 (of record from IDS filed 11/22/2022, hereinafter KR’076)
Claim 2. KR’076 teaches an electric device mounted on a supporting body, the electric device comprising:
a first display (620, fig 4) and a second display (660), which are configured in a same housing (30) and are facing a front,
wherein the first display and the second display are both rectangular (fig 4) and
a long side direction of the first display and a long side direction of the second display are orthogonal to each other (fig 4), so that regardless of whether the electric device is mounted horizontally or vertically on the supporting body, one of the first display and the second display always provides a horizontal screen and the other of the first display and the second display always provides a vertical screen (seen by comparing fig 4 with fig 4 rotated 90 degrees).
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 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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
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 of this title, 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 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over KR’076 in view of Busch (US 20200096802 A1, hereinafter Busch)
Claim 3. KR’076 teaches the electric device of claim 2, but fails to teach that, when the electric device is mounted on the supporting body in the horizontal direction, the first display provides the horizontal screen and the second display provides the vertical screen, and
when the electric device is mounted on the supporting body in the vertical direction, the first display provides the vertical screen and the second display provides the horizontal screen.
Busch (US 20200096802 A1) teaches changing the display orientation based on rotation sensing ([0414] recites ‘The orientation of the device is detected using accelerometer, gyroscope, IMU or any other similar technology. The screen may be oriented based on these sensors and the determined direction of gravity’)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the arrangement as taught by Busch into the device of KR’076. The ordinary artisan would have been motivated to modify KR’076 in the above manner for the purpose of displaying information in a way that can be easily read, right side up after rotation.
Claims 4-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over KR’076 in view of Busch (US 20200096802 A1), further in view of Kim (US 20100227650 A1, hereinafter Kim)
Claim 4. KR’076 in view of Busch teaches the electric device of claim 3, but fails to teach that the information displayed on the first display when the electric device is mounted on the supporting body in the horizontal direction is displayed on the second display when the electric device is changed to be mounted on the supporting body in the vertical direction, and
the information displayed on the second display when the electric device is mounted on the supporting body in the horizontal direction is displayed on the first display when the electric device is changed to be mounted on the supporting body in the vertical direction
Kim teaches information displayed on a first display (413, fig 10A, [0185]) when the electric device is mounted on the supporting body in the horizontal direction is displayed on the second display when the electric device is rotated (fig 9, figs 10a, 10b) , and
the information displayed on the second display when the electric device is mounted on the supporting body in the horizontal direction is displayed on the first display when the electric device is rotated (fig 9, figs 10a, 10b) .
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the display information swapping as taught by Kim into the device of KR’076 in view of Busch. The ordinary artisan would have been motivated to modify KR’076 in view of Busch in the above manner for the purpose of orienting the information in the easiest way for it to be read. Although Kim does not specifically teach a change in rotation between vertical and horizontal directions, Busch already teaches such rotation. Kim does teach swapping display information based on detecting rotation, which would have been obvious to do with the waveforms and meter data of KR’076 since the waveforms of 620 of figs 3, 4 of KR’076 are easiest to see in landscape while the writing of KR’076 element 660 of figs 4, 5 would have been easiest to read in portrait view.
Claim 5. KR’076 teaches the electric device of claim 2, but fails to specifically teach regardless of whether the electric device is mounted horizontally or vertically on the supporting body, in normal times, the horizontal screen fundamentally displays the information about the meter function, and the vertical screen fundamentally displays the information about the relay function
Busch (US 20200096802 A1) teaches changing the display orientation based on rotation sensing ([0414] recites ‘The orientation of the device is detected using accelerometer, gyroscope, IMU or any other similar technology. The screen may be oriented based on these sensors and the determined direction of gravity’)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the arrangement as taught by Busch into the device of KR’076. The ordinary artisan would have been motivated to modify KR’076 in the above manner for the purpose of displaying information in a way that can be easily read, right side up after rotation.
Kim teaches information displayed on a first display (413, fig 10A, [0185]) when the electric
device is mounted on the supporting body in the horizontal direction is displayed on the second
display when the electric device is rotated (fig 9, figs 10a, 10b)
, and the information displayed on the second display when the electric device is mounted on the supporting body in the horizontal direction is displayed on the first display when the electric device is rotated (fig 9, figs 10a, 10b) .
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the display information swapping as taught by Kim into the device of KR’076 in view of Busch. The ordinary artisan would have been motivated to modify KR’076 in view of Busch in the above manner for the purpose of orienting the information in the easiest way for it to be read. Although Kim does not specifically teach a change in rotation between vertical and horizontal directions, Busch already teaches such rotation. Kim does teach swapping display information based on detecting rotation, which would have been obvious to do with the waveforms and meter data of KR’076 since the waveforms of 620 of figs 3, 4 of KR’076 are easiest to see in landscape while the writing of KR’076 element 660 of figs 4, 5 would have been easiest to read in portrait view.
Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over KR in view of Ishikawa (US RE46934 E, hereinafter Ishikawa)
Claim 7. KR teaches the electric device of claim 1, wherein:
a plurality of input buttons (fig 5) configured in the housing and facing the front, wherein respective character strings displayed on the input buttons (fig 5) are toward a space between the first display () and the second display (fig 5).
However KR fails to specifically teach that the buttons are inclined
Ishikawa teaches a plurality of input buttons (11, fig 1) configured in the housing and facing the front (fig 1), wherein the input buttons are inclined (fig 3) toward a space between the first display (4a) and the second display (4b).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the arrangement as taught by Ishikawa into the device of KR. The ordinary artisan would have been motivated to modify KR in the above manner for the purpose of improving convenience for the user.
Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over KR in view of Ishikawa (US RE46934 E, hereinafter Ishikawa), further in view of Fujibayashi (US 8847089 B2, hereinafter Fujibayashi)
Claim 8. KR in view of Ishikawa teaches the electric device of claim 7, but fails to teach:
in some or all of the plurality of input buttons, light-transmitting windows () for LED lamps are provided on respective corner portions facing the space between the first display () and the second display ().
Fujibayashi teaches in some or all of the plurality of input buttons, light-transmitting windows (col 6 lines 16-18 recite ‘The elastic portion 15a is formed in the cell so as not to block light from a first light source 22-1 and a second light source 22-2’ while col 6 lines 39-41 recites ‘The first elastic portion 15a-1 and the second elastic portion 15a-2 are each formed of, for example, a plastic and have a thickness of about 0.5 to 3.0 mm in the third direction’) for LED lamps (22-1, 22-2) are provided on respective corner portions
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the arrangement as taught by Fujibayashi into the device of KR. The ordinary artisan would have been motivated to modify KR in the above manner for the purpose of helping users in low light conditions.
Regarding the limitation ‘facing the space between the first display and the second display’, KR and Ishikawa already teach this limitation.
Claim 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over KR’076 in view of Busch (US 20200096802 A1), further in view of Kim (US 20100227650 A1, hereinafter Kim), still further in view of KR
Claim 12. KR’076 in view of Busch, further in view of Kim teaches the electric device of claim 5, but fails to teach
KR further teaches the information about the meter function comprises waveform information, and the information about the relay function comprises a distribution diagram and state information of a circuit breaker
KR teaches the information about the meter function comprises waveform information (specification recites ‘One kinds of measurement information that is the rms value and the functions of the meter panel should display the voltage, current, power, energy, phase, etc’), and the information about the relay function comprises a distribution diagram (specification recites ‘Second measurement information is a basic wave component of the voltage, current to be measured to the protective relay’) and state information of a circuit breaker (second last paragraph of the specification recites ‘a time delay over-current relay (OCR: Over Current Relay) to represent, 50G is instantaneous ground overcurrent relays (OCGR: Ground Over Current Relay) to represent, 51G is poetry ground overcurrent relays (OCGR: Ground Over Current Relay) to represent, 67G is optional ground relay (SGR: represents the Selective Ground Relay), breaker represents the breakers, Trip means the blocking and, Close means a commitment and, status Check will mean the status check circuit breaker operation and, breaker Operation is low because a lot of display that input of the circuit breaker’, see also fig 5)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the arrangement as taught by KR into the device of KR’076 in view of Busch, further in view of Kim. The ordinary artisan would have been motivated to modify KR’076 in view of Busch, further in view of Kim in the above manner for the purpose of allowing status check of a circuit breaker (KR’076 [0030] indicates measurement values from a circuit breaker, but KR’076 does not mention status check of circuit breaker).
Examiner Notes
Examiner cites particular elements, columns and line numbers in the references as applied to the claims above for the convenience of the applicant. Although the specified citations are representative of the teachings in the art and are applied to the specific limitations within the individual claim, other passages and figures may apply as well. It is respectfully requested that, in preparing responses, the applicant fully consider the references in their entirety as potentially teaching all or part of the claimed invention, as well as the context of the passage as taught by the prior art or disclosed by the examiner.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DOUGLAS R BURTNER whose telephone number is (571)272-0966. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9-5.
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/DOUGLAS R BURTNER/Examiner, Art Unit 2841 /ROCKSHANA D CHOWDHURY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2841