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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments received 02/25/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant argues:
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Examiner respectfully disagrees. Examiner reminds to the Applicant that during patent examination, the pending claims must be given the broadest reasonable interpretation consistent with the specification. Under a broadest reasonable interpretation (BRI), words of the claim must be given their plain meaning, unless such meaning is inconsistent with the specification. The plain meaning of a term means the ordinary and customary meaning given to the term by those of ordinary skill in the art at the relevant time. See MPEP 2111.01. Moreover, although the claims are interpreted in light of the specification, limitations from the specification are not read into the claims. See In re Van Geuns, 988 F.2d 1181, 26 USPQ2d 1057 (Fed. Cir. 1993). With these principles in mind, Examiner maintains the position that the combination of PATEL and Panella teach or renders obvious the invention recited in instant claim 1 including the limitation (i.e., determining a location of a signalization device in building with an elevator system) in question.
Specifically, with the BRI to the claim, Examiner considers that the teaching of PATEL includes: commissioning an elevator signalization device (e.g., a display attached near an elevator door and which shows the current position of the elevator, or a device with a push button near an elevator door for calling the elevator; see page 2, lines 26-29) to a communication network of an elevator system in a building the elevator system is operative (page 2, lines 26-29; page 5, lines 4-10; page 12, lines 17-19); inquiring a network address of the elevator signalization device (page 13, lines 6-9); determining a location of the signalization device in the building with the elevator system as defined in the system configuration file, and associating the location of the elevator signalization device in the building with the network address of the elevator signalization device received through the inquiring (page 5, lines 4-5; page 13, lines 4-9).
Examiner admits that PATEL does not mention explicitly: the definitions of the elevator signalization device in the system configuration data defining a communication port of a switching device that the elevator signalization device is communicatively connected to; said associating the location of the elevator signalization device with said network address of the elevator signalization device is based on the communication port of the switching device serving the elevator signalization device. However, the Office action does not admit either explicitly or implicitly: "the definitions of the elevator signalization device in the system configuration data at least defining a location of the elevator signalization device in a building the elevator system is operative," Applicant’s misinterpretation to the Examiner’s position in this regard is regretted.
The rest of the Applicant’s arguments are reliant upon the issue discussed above or have been fully addressed by the claim mapping as set forth in sections 3-4 below in this Office Action.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
3. 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.
4. Claims 1-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over PATEL (WO 2017220678 A1) in view of Panella et al. (US 20120226807 A1).
Regarding claims 1, 5 and 9, PATEL discloses a control device (e.g., central controller 22 of the elevator control system 24), and a method implemented by a computer program product for practicing the device, for commissioning an elevator signalization device (e.g., a display attached near an elevator door and which shows the current position of the elevator, or a device with a push button near an elevator door for calling the elevator; see page 2, lines 26-29) to a communication network of an elevator system (Abstract; claim 1), the control device (central controller 22) comprising: at least one processor, at least one memory including computer program codes (features being inherent to the central controller 22 in Fig. 1), wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the control device (22) to perform (see claim 14): receive a system configuration data (page 9, lines 32-34) at least providing definitions of the elevator signalization device, the definitions of the elevator signalization device in the system configuration data at least defining a location of the elevator signalization device in a building the elevator system is operative (page 12, lines 17-19); inquire a network address of the elevator signalization device (page 13, lines 6-9); associate the location of the elevator signalization device in the building as defined in the system configuration data with the network address of the elevator signalization device received through the inquiry (page 5, lines 4-5; page 13, lines 4-9); and commission the elevator signalization device by transmitting a configuration data of the elevator signalization device to the network address of the elevator signalization device received through an association (page 13, lines 10-21).
PATEL is silent on: said configuration data providing a network topology of the communication network, and the definitions of the elevator signalization device in the system configuration data also defining a communication port of a switching device that the elevator signalization device is communicatively connected to; said inquire is from the switching device, in accordance with the network topology of the communication network, and an inquiry is performed on a communication port basis for the switching device; said associate the location of the elevator signalization device with said network address of the elevator signalization device is based on the communication port of the switching device serving the elevator signalization device.
Panella discloses a technique of identifying a new end-user device connected within a communication network (Abstract), comprising: receiving a system configuration data at least providing a network topology of the communication network (para. 0016) and definitions of the new end-user device wherein the definitions of the new end-user device also defining a communication port of a switching device that the new end-user device is communicatively connected to (para. 0017); inquiring, in accordance with the network topology of the communication network, a network address of the new end-user device from the switching device, wherein an inquiry is performed on a communication port basis for the switching device (para., 0015-0017); associating the location of the new end-user device with the network address of the new end-user device, received through the inquiry, based on the communication port of the switching device serving the new end-user device (para. 0017).
It would have been obvious to one ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify PATEL in view of Panella to arrive the claimed invention by applying Panella’s teachings of identifying the new end-user device and formatting the related configuration data to PATEL’s elevator signalization device. Doing so would allow for automatically identifying a new end-user device, like an elevator signalization device, connected within a network without manually scanning or entering a unique identifier, thus simplifying the commissioning of a network device (Panella, para. 0011-0012).
Regarding claims 2, 6 and 16, PATEL does not but Panella discloses: wherein network addresses of the new end-user devices are received on the communication port basis from a plurality of switching devices of the system (para. 0034). As such, the combination of PATEL and Panella discussed for claims 1 and 5 above renders the claimed invention obvious.
Regarding claims 3, 7, 10, 13 and 17, PATEL does not but Panella discloses: wherein an association of the location of the new end-user device with the network address of the new end-user device is performed by modifying the system configuration data by adding the network address of the new end-user device in a context of data of the new end-user device (para. 0039). As such, the combination of PATEL and Panella discussed for claims 1 and 5 above renders the claimed invention obvious.
Regarding claims 4, 8, 11-12, 14-15 and 18, PATEL discloses: delivering the data describing the association to an elevator controller of the elevator system (page 5, lines 4-5; see also discussion for claims 1 and 5 above).
Regarding claim 19, PATEL discloses: wherein the location of the elevator signalization device (e.g., a display attached near an elevator door and which shows the current position of the elevator, or a device with a push button near an elevator door for calling the elevator; see page 2, lines 26-29) in the building includes a floor (page 1, lines 17-19: “An example for such a device is a push button for calling an elevator, which may be provided as the same physical device on every floor”; page 2, lines 27-31; page 3, lines 16-19) and a location in the floor (e.g., near an elevator door for calling the elevator).
Conclusion
5. 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 extension fee 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 date of this final action.
Contact Information
6. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JIANCHUN QIN whose telephone number is (571)272-5981. The examiner can normally be reached 9AM-5:30PM EST M-F.
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, Dedei Hammond can be reached at (571)270-7938. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JIANCHUN QIN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2837
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