DETAILED ACTION
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 Amendment
This office action is in response to applicant’s amendment and RCE filed, 08 August 2025, of application filed, with the above serial number, on 19 May 2023 in which claims 1-3, 8, 15-18, 20 have been amended and claims 10-12 have been cancelled. Claims 1-3, 8-9, 13-20 are pending in the application.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
Claim(s) 1-3, 8-9, 13-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102a1 as being anticipated by Hu et al (hereinafter “Hu”, 2019/0349252).
As per Claim 1, Hu discloses a system (100) for over the air commissioning, the system (100) comprising:
a wireless mesh network (at least paragraph 24; bluetooth mesh network);
a server configured to provide network credentials for over the air commissioning, wherein the network credentials include a network key, and an address associated with the wireless mesh network (at least paragraph 25, 30, 38; Server 10b may thus determine whether it needs to perform provisioning operations for unprovisioned Bluetooth devices on this list of unprovisioned Bluetooth devices. It may actively generate provisioning data for the unprovisioned Bluetooth devices on this list.; Provisioning data examples including NetKey, AppKey and unicast address data);
processing circuitry (104) that is coupled to the server, and configured to be commissioned to the wireless mesh network by way of the network credentials received from the server (at least Fig. 1; par. 27, 37, 72; Bluetooth gateway 10a generally includes at least one processing unit, at least one memory device, and a Bluetooth communication module; Server 10b and the plurality of Bluetooth gateways 10a may employ multiple forms of collaboration; the Bluetooth gateway may receive a provisioning instruction issued by the server and analyze the provisioning instruction to extract provisioning data);
a plurality of devices, wherein a non-commissioned device of the plurality of devices generates and provides a request signal for commissioning (at least paragraph 65; unprovisioned Bluetooth devices notify nearby Bluetooth gateways through broadcasting when prepared to access the network) to one of:
(i) the processing circuitry when the processing circuitry is in direct wireless range of the non-commissioned device such that the processing circuitry (a) receives the network credentials from the server based on the request signal and (b) commissions the non-commissioned device with the wireless mesh network based on the received network credentials; or
(ii) a commissioned device of the plurality of devices that is in direct wireless range of both the processing circuitry and the non-commissioned device such that the processing circuitry (a) receives the request signal via the commissioned device, (b) receives the network credentials from the server based on the request signal, and (c) provide the network credentials to the commissioned device that is commissioned to the wireless mesh network such that the commissioned device commissions the non-commissioned device with the wireless mesh network based on the network credentials (at least paragraph 46; Each Bluetooth gateway in Bluetooth mesh network 10 may detect one unprovisioned Bluetooth device… the information about the unprovisioned Bluetooth devices that each Bluetooth gateway detects may be reported to server 10b; par. 49; Server 10b may directly issue the provisioning data to the destination Bluetooth gateway. As discussed previously, after the destination Bluetooth gateway receives the provisioning data, it may determine that there is a need to perform a provisioning operation on the detected, unprovisioned Bluetooth device using the provisioning data. A different approach may be that server 10b issues a provisioning instruction that includes the provisioning data for the destination Bluetooth gateway. With such an approach, after the destination Bluetooth gateway receives the provisioning instruction, it may learn of the need to perform a provisioning operation directed at the detected, unprovisioned Bluetooth device and then analyze the provisioning instruction and extract the provisioning data to perform a provisioning operation directed at the detected, unprovisioned Bluetooth device using the provisioning data).
As per Claim 2. The system (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the request signal comprises a unique identifier (ID) associated with a first device (102a) of the plurality of devices such that the unique ID facilitate to identify one of, a location of the first device (102a), a type of the first device (102a), a wireless mesh network to which the first device (102a) is to be tagged to (at least paragraph 40; information about unprovisioned Bluetooth devices detected and reported by Bluetooth gateways 10a can include identifying information about the Bluetooth devices, e.g., universally unique identifiers (UUIDs). In some embodiments, information about the Bluetooth devices also includes signal strength information about the Bluetooth devices detected by Bluetooth gateways 10a, e.g., received signal strength indicators (RSSIs). UUIDs may include product IDs, media access control (MAC) addresses, and other information. A product ID may identify the Bluetooth device type, capabilities, and other such information. Server 10b may use the information).
As per Claim 3. The system (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to provide the request signal to the server such that the server updates a list of non-commissioned devices by adding the non-commissioned device in the list (at least paragraph 38; Server 10b may thus determine whether it needs to perform provisioning operations for unprovisioned Bluetooth devices on this list of unprovisioned Bluetooth devices. It may actively generate provisioning data for the unprovisioned Bluetooth devices on this list.).
As per Claim 8. The system (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the wireless mesh network (108) comprises one of, an Internet of Things (IOT) network, a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) network, a Zigbee network, or a combination thereof (at least paragraph 32, 17; Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) standard).
As per Claim 9. The system (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the plurality of devices (102) comprises one of, IOT light bulbs, IOT light panels, IOT temperature sensors, IOT humidity sensors, IOT access control readers, IOT range extenders, or a combination thereof (at least paragraph 32; bluetooth lamp).
As per Claim 13. The system (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the server (106) further comprises a database (112) that is configured to store the first device (102a) in a list of non-commissioned devices with the associated unique ID of the first device (102a) (at least paragraph 38; a user may pre-save a list of unprovisioned Bluetooth devices on server 10b. Server 10b may thus determine whether it needs to perform provisioning operations for unprovisioned Bluetooth devices on this list of unprovisioned Bluetooth devices. It may actively generate provisioning data for the unprovisioned Bluetooth devices on this list).
As per Claim 14. The system (100) as claimed in claim 13, wherein the database (112) is further configured to store a list of commissioned devices and associated unique IDs of the commissioned devices (at least paragraph 38-40; eg. UUIDs).
Claims 15-20 do not, in substance, add or define any additional limitations over claims 1, 2, 14, 8, 9, 3, respectively, and therefore are rejected for similar reasons, supra.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1-3, 8-9, 13-20 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
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
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/GREGORY TODD/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2443
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