DETAILED ACTION
This communication is in response to response filed on February 26, 2026.
Claims 1 and 10 were amended.
Claims 1-20 are pending.
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.
Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Witczak et al., U.S Patent Publication No. 2019/0373530 A1 (hereinafter referred to as Witczak) in view of Navda et al., U.S. Patent No. 8,843,169.
With regards to claim 1, Witczak teaches a method for transferring data in an elevator arrangement, the elevator arrangement comprising at least an elevator shaft, an elevator car configured to move in the elevator shaft and at least one wireless communication channel available for communication in the elevator shaft (The FIGs and description define an elevator/car and communication modules supporting short- and long-range wireless protocols, refer to at least paragraphs [0031]–[0038], [0044),
wherein the method comprises:
determining signal quality and/or data transmission quality of the at least one wireless communication channel in different positions of the elevator car in the elevator shaft (measurement of network signal strength at various locations/floors while moving, refer to at least paragraphs [0046], [0050], [0051], [0056]);
moving the elevator car to a position or area selected based on the determined signal quality and/or the determined data transmission quality (controller can initiate movement to a location having network signal strength above a threshold, refer to at least Fig. 6 (flow step 610-618) and at least paragraphs [0010], [0053], [0053] – [0054]); and
performing data transfer at said selected area or at said selected position of the elevator car (data transfer is deferred until reaching locations above threshold and then performed there, refer to Fig. 6 (flow step 612) and at least paragraphs [003]; [0046]; [0052]).
starting data transfer, in response to the elevator car being moved to or returned to the selected position (at flow step 612, the controller 212 transfers data to/from the memory 216, including any data timestamps, at the location having the network signal strength greater than the threshold.)
Witczak does not explicitly teach pausing or stopping the data transfer, in response to the car moving from the selected position. However, Navda teaches continuously monitoring signal quality during an ongoing data transfer, comparing the signal quality to a threshold and if the signal becomes poor to suspend the transfer (refer to Fig. 5, col. 12, lines 5-60).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Witczak with the teaching of Navda to enable it to suspend data transfer when moving away from a location of high-quality signal strength in order to make the data transfer more reliable, reduce errors and to improve overall communication efficiency.
With regards to claim 2, Witczak teaches the method according to claim 1, wherein the selected position where the data transmission is carried out is a position or one of predefined positions, where the determined signal quality and/or data transmission quality is the highest (mapping of locations to network signal strength and choosing to transfer when at location having strength greater than threshold; FIG. 4 shows highest on floors 4 and 5 and controller defers sending until “best” locations, refer to at least paragraphs [0044]–[0046], [0050]–[0053]).
With regards to claim 3, Witczak teaches the method according to claim 1, wherein the elevator car is parked to the selected position, essentially always or based on predefined criteria when the elevator car is not in use (the disclosure repeatedly describes initiating movement to a location having network signal strength greater than a threshold and then transferring data there, refer to at least Fig. 6 flow step 618 and 612 and paragraphs [0010], [0052]–[0053], that teaching shows the car can be moved and then remain in the location for transfer).
With regards to claim 4, Witczak teaches the method according to any preceding claim 1, wherein the step of determining the signal quality and/or the data transmission quality of at least one wireless communication channel in different positions of the elevator car in the elevator shaft is carried out by measuring signal quality and/or data transfer quality when the elevator car is moving in the elevator shaft and/or continuously when the elevator is operating or at predefined time intervals during operation of the elevator (mapping measured while moving (e.g., moving up and down to measure signal per floor), and mapping can be updated repeatedly during normal operation or at intervals, refer to at least paragraphs [0050], [0055]).
With regards to claim 5, Witczak teaches the method according to claim 1, wherein the signal quality and/or the data transmission quality is determined at least in every floor (example explicitly measures network signal strength at each floor and maps it, refer to at least paragraphs [0046], [0050]-[0051]).
With regards to claim 6, Witczak teaches the method according to claim1, wherein the signal quality and/or the data transmission quality is determined by analyzing the measured signal level and/or data transfer quality by an elevator control unit and/or a cloud backend system, and/or based in the information from elevator commissioning software or other external system (controller 212 and system controller 115 are described; mapping may be stored in memory 216, in system controller 115, or both; remote/cloud “remote system 280” and distributed/cloud storage and processing are described, refer to at least paragraphs [0031]–[0034], [0037], [0046], [0048], [0050]).
With regards to claim 7, Witczak teaches method the according to claim 1, wherein the step of determining the signal quality and/or the data transmission quality is based on real time measurement and/or real time determination of the signal quality or data transmission quality (the controller measures signal strength and can use current measurements and capacity to decide transfers; mapping updates are performed in operation, and flow uses “expected to reach location” and real-time thresholds, refer to at least paragraphs [0046], [0050]–[0053], [0055]).
With regards to claim 8, Witczak teaches the method according to claim 1, wherein information collected from the signal quality and/or data transmission quality determinations based on the time of the day and/or day of the earlier results of the signal quality and or data transfer quality determination are used when selecting the position of the elevator car for data transfer (controller may be programmed with times of day (9am/noon/5pm example) to know when elevator will traverse all floors and thus reach a high-signal floor and also mapping may be updated over time, refer to at least paragraphs [0052], [0055]).
With regards to claim 9, Witczak teaches the method according to claim 1, wherein the signal quality and/or the data transmission quality is determined at different times of the day and the data transfer is carried out when the free capacity of the communication channel is above a predefined value or when there is most free capacity in the communication channel available for data transfer (monitoring available network signal strength, capacity, and deciding to send when network quality/capacity is adequate, refer to at least paragraphs [0051-0054]).
Claims 10-20 do not teaching anything beyond claims 1-9 above; therefore, they are rejected under the same rationale and anticipated by Witczak.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1 and 9 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
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 SHAWKI SAIF ISMAIL whose telephone number is (571)272-3985. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8a.m.-4:30p.m..
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/SHAWKI S ISMAIL/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2837
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