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 .
This Office Action is in response to Applicant’s amendment and request for continued examination filed 12/16/2025. Claims 1-20 are currently pending in this application.
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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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 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, 4, and 6-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Miao (U.S. 7,002,470 B1) in view of Feinmesser et al. (U.S. 2022/0394101 A1), in view of Woxblom et al. (U.S. 2012/0079092 A1).
Claim 1, Miao teaches:
A method (Miao, Figs. 1 and 9), comprising:
initiating a zone configuration software by a control panel of a sensor system (Miao, Col. 8, Lines 50-61, The cluster heads are functionally equivalent to a control panel. The sensor networks communications are implemented based on a combination of hardware and software (see Miao, Col. 4, Lines 1-5).) having a plurality of event detection devices, the control panel controlling the functioning of the sensor system (Miao, Col. 8, Lines 50-61, Each of the sensor nodes that are not sensor cluster heads are functionally equivalent to event detection devices. Once the sensor nodes determine the cluster group to which they want to belong, the cluster heads receive all of the sensor node ID mask codes and assigns a channel bandwidth that the sensor nodes can send data to the sensor cluster heads, i.e. the cluster heads control the functioning of the sensor system.);
sending, via the control panel, instructions, to each event detection device of the sensor system, to initiate short range communication to communicate with other event detection devices within each device's communication range (Miao, Col. 8, Lines 50-61, Each sensor cluster head advertises to all sensor nodes in the sensor field, which is functionally equivalent to initiating short range communication to detection devices within the communication range of the sensor cluster head. Furthermore, the assigning of a channel bandwidth to each sensor node in the cluster also affects the sensor nodes to transmit a short range communication including the sensor data (see Miao, Col. 5, Lines 62-65). Finally, the sensor nodes are capable of communicating with each other (see Miao, Col. 4, Lines 10-19), and it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time of filing, for the sensor nodes to communicate with each other in addition to communicating with the sensor cluster heads/forward stations.);
receiving event detection device identification information from, and identifying each event detection device within each event detection device's communication range (Miao, Col. 8, Lines 56-61, Each of the sensor cluster heads receives all the sensor node ID mask codes within the cluster group, which effectively identifies each sensor node. As per the limitation of identifying each event detection device within each event detection device's communication range, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time of filing, for each sensor node that selects the same cluster head to be in communication range with all other sensor nodes that select the same cluster head. As per the limitation of receive event detection device identification information from each event detection device within each event detection device's communication range, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art for each sensor node that transmits to a particular cluster head to be within communication range of all of the other sensor nodes that transmit to the same cluster head.);
determining and creating a plurality of zones of the alarm system by clustering event detection devices with a communication signal strength above a threshold strength value (Miao, Col. 8, Lines 50-61, The sensor nodes are clustered based on a signal strength of the advertisement from the sensor cluster heads. The plurality of clusters led by a respective cluster head thus represents a plurality of zones of the alarm system.).
Miao does not specifically teach:
Sending computing device executable instructions to a control panel of an alarm system; and
wherein a different respective set of cause and effect rules applies to each of the plurality of zones.
Feinmesser teaches:
Sending computing device executable instructions to a computer product/system (Feinmesser, Paragraph [0217]) of an alarm system (Feinmesser, Paragraph [0146], The system can be implemented for an alarm clock application.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time of filing, to modify the system in Miao by integrating the teaching of location determination, as taught by Feinmesser.
The motivation would be to utilize known wireless techniques to improve on the accuracy of UWB signals (see Feinmesser, Paragraph [0171]), which is utilized by Miao (see Miao, Col. 1, Lines 6-8).
Miao in view of Feinmesser does not specifically teach:
Wherein a different respective set of cause and effect rules applies to each of the plurality of zones.
Woxblom teaches:
Wherein a different respective set of cause and effect rules applies to each of the plurality of zones (Woxblom, Paragraphs [0113-0114], Each cluster has a specific set of forwarding rules as well as to which devices a corresponding device can control. For example, a fire detector that detects smoke may also trigger a corresponding security camera, but not a washer/dryer or another appliance in a different cluster. The plurality of rules set for each cluster is thus equivalent to cause and effect rules.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time of filing, to modify the system of Miao in view of Feinmesser by integrating the teaching of clusters and resource management, as taught by Woxblom.
The motivation would be to provide more advanced and/or useful functionality to a user of the system (see Woxblom, Paragraph [0010]).
Claim 4, Miao in view of Feinmesser, in view of Woxblom further teaches:
The method of claim 1, wherein the short range communication functionality is Bluetooth low energy (Feinmesser, Paragraph [0086]).
Claim 6, Miao in view of Feinmesser, in view of Woxblom further teaches:
The method of claim 1, wherein the method includes transmitting the detection device identification information to the computing device through a gateway device (Miao, Fig. 2: 240, Col. 6, Lines 4-19, The transceiver 240 of sensor node 110 is functionally equivalent to a gateway device that facilitates communication with a sensor forward station 120.).
Claim 7, Miao in view of Feinmesser, in view of Woxblom further teaches:
The method of claim 1, wherein the method includes assigning a respective non-communication equipped system device to each of the plurality of zones (Miao, Fig. 2: 260, A solar cell receiver 260, which is part of each sensor node 110, is an example of a non-communication equipped system device that is assigned to each cluster.).
Claim 8, Miao in view of Feinmesser, in view of Woxblom further teaches:
The method of claim 7, wherein the method includes automatically assigning the different respective sets of cause and effect rules to all detection devices and non-communication equipped system devices of the plurality of zones (Miao, Col. 8, Lines 50-61, The “cause and effect rules” are the respective clusters that are assigned to each group of sensors (see Woxblom, Paragraphs [0113-0114]).).
Claim 9, Miao in view of Feinmesser, in view of Woxblom further teaches:
The method of claim 1, wherein the method includes determining the different respective sets of cause and effect rules for the plurality of zones (Miao, Col. 8, Lines 50-61, The “cause and effect rules” are the respective clusters that are assigned to each group of sensors (see Woxblom, Paragraphs [0113-0114]).).
Claim 10, Miao in view of Feinmesser, in view of Woxblom further teaches:
The method of claim 9, wherein the method includes automatically assigning the different respective set of cause and effect rules to all detection devices of each of the plurality of zones (Miao, Col. 8, Lines 50-61, The “cause and effect rules” are the respective clusters that are assigned to each group of sensors (see Woxblom, Paragraphs [0113-0114]).).
Claim 11, Maio teaches:
A system (Miao, Figs. 1 and 9), comprising:
a number of event detection devices (Miao, Fig. 1: 110) configured to detect an event (Miao, Col. 5, Liens 33-35) within a building (Miao, Col. 1, Lines 57-62, An example location includes a public building.); and
a sensor system control panel configured to receive information about the event or event detection devices and transmit the information to a computing device (Miao, Col. 8, Lines 50-61, The cluster heads are functionally equivalent to a control panel.), the control panel controlling the functioning of the sensor system (Miao, Col. 8, Lines 50-61, Each of the sensor nodes that are not sensor cluster heads are functionally equivalent to event detection devices. Once the sensor nodes determine the cluster group to which they want to belong, the cluster heads receive all of the sensor node ID mask codes and assigns a channel bandwidth that the sensor nodes can send data to the sensor cluster heads, i.e. the cluster heads control the functioning of the sensor system.);
wherein the computing device is configured to:
initiate a zone configuration software (Miao, Col. 8, Lines 50-61, The cluster heads are functionally equivalent to a control panel. The sensor networks communications are implemented based on a combination of hardware and software (see Miao, Col. 4, Lines 1-5). The components of the sensor node forward station 120 that performs the steps of analysis, pattern recognition, coordination, and processing are interpreted as a computing device (see Miao, Col. 6, Lines 15-19).);
send, via the control panel, instructions, to each event detection device of the alarm system, to initiate short range communication to communicate with other event detection devices within each event detection device's communication range (Miao, Col. 8, Lines 50-61, Each sensor cluster head advertises to all sensor nodes in the sensor field, which is functionally equivalent to initiating short range communication to detection devices within the communication range of the sensor cluster head. Furthermore, the assigning of a channel bandwidth to each sensor node in the cluster also affects the sensor nodes to transmit a short range communication including the sensor data (see Miao, Col. 5, Lines 62-65). Finally, the sensor nodes are capable of communicating with each other (see Miao, Col. 4, Lines 10-19), and it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time of filing, for the sensor nodes to communicate with each other in addition to communicating with the sensor cluster heads/forward stations.);
receive event detection device identification information from, and identifying each event detection device within each event detection device's communication range (Miao, Col. 8, Lines 56-61, Each of the sensor cluster heads receives all the sensor node ID mask codes within the cluster group, which effectively identifies each sensor node. As per the limitation of identifying each event detection device within each event detection device's communication range, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time of filing, for each sensor node that selects the same cluster head to be in communication range with all other sensor nodes that select the same cluster head. As per the limitation of receive event detection device identification information from each event detection device within each event detection device's communication range, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art for each sensor node that transmits to a particular cluster head to be within communication range of all of the other sensor nodes that transmit to the same cluster head.);
determine and create a plurality of zones of the alarm system by clustering event detection devices with a communication signal strength above a threshold strength value (Miao, Col. 8, Lines 50-61, The sensor nodes are clustered based on a signal strength of the advertisement from the sensor cluster heads. The plurality of clusters led by a respective cluster head thus represents a plurality of zones of the alarm system.).
Miao does not specifically teach:
An alarm system and sending computing device executable instructions to a control panel of an alarm system; and
wherein a different respective set of cause and effect rules applies to each of the plurality of zones.
Feinmesser teaches:
An alarm system (Feinmesser, Paragraph [0146], The system can be implemented for an alarm clock application.) and sending computing device executable instructions to a control panel of a product/system (Feinmesser, Paragraph [0217]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time of filing, to modify the system in Miao by integrating the teaching of location determination, as taught by Feinmesser.
The motivation would be to utilize known wireless techniques to improve on the accuracy of UWB signals (see Feinmesser, Paragraph [0171]), which is utilized by Miao (see Miao, Col. 1, Lines 6-8).
Miao in view of Feinmesser does not specifically teach:
Wherein a different respective set of cause and effect rules applies to each of the plurality of zones.
Woxblom teaches:
Wherein a different respective set of cause and effect rules applies to each of the plurality of zones (Woxblom, Paragraphs [0113-0114], Each cluster has a specific set of forwarding rules as well as to which devices a corresponding device can control. For example, a fire detector that detects smoke may also trigger a corresponding security camera, but not a washer/dryer or another appliance in a different cluster. The plurality of rules set for each cluster is thus equivalent to cause and effect rules.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time of filing, to modify the system of Miao in view of Feinmesser by integrating the teaching of clusters and resource management, as taught by Woxblom.
The motivation would be to provide more advanced and/or useful functionality to a user of the system (see Woxblom, Paragraph [0010]).
Claim 12, Miao in view of Feinmesser, in view of Woxblom further teaches:
The system of claim 11, wherein the computing device is configured to assign one of the different respective sets of cause and effect rules to a new event detection device automatically when the new event detection device is assigned to a zone of the plurality of zones (Miao, Col. 8, Lines 50-61, The “cause and effect rules” are the respective clusters that are assigned to each group of sensors (see Woxblom, Paragraphs [0113-0114]). A “new” event detection device, for example, may be a sensor node added during a clustering event.).
Claim 13, Miao in view of Feinmesser, in view of Woxblom further teaches:
The system of claim 11, wherein the computing device is a computing device that is remotely connected to the alarm system (Miao, Fig. 1: 120, The sensor forward stations 120 are wireless connected to the sensor field 102. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art for the sensor forward stations 120 to be capable of being located remotely from the sensor field 102, as a matter of engineering choice. See MPEP 2144.04.).
Miao in view of Feinmesser, in view of Woxblom does not explicitly teach:
A portable computing device.
However, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time of filing to make the sensor forward stations 120 portable, as a matter of engineering choice. Such a modification would not change the principal operation of the system, as a whole, and would yield predictable results. See MPEP 2144.04.
Claim 14, Miao in view of Feinmesser, in view of Woxblom further teaches:
The system of claim 11, wherein the computing device is a portable computing device that is remotely connected to the alarm system (Miao, Fig. 1: 120, The sensor forward stations 120 are wireless connected to the sensor field 102. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art for the sensor forward stations 120 to be capable of being located remotely from the sensor field 102, as a matter of engineering choice. Furthermore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time of filing to make the sensor forward stations 120 portable, as a matter of engineering choice. Such a modification would not change the principal operation of the system, as a whole, and would yield predictable results. See MPEP 2144.04.) via a gateway device (Miao, Fig. 2: 240, Col. 6, Lines 4-19, The transceiver 240 of sensor node 110 is functionally equivalent to a gateway device that facilitates communication with a sensor forward station 120.).
Claims 2-3, 5, and 15-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Miao (U.S. 7,002,470 B1) in view of Feinmesser et al. (U.S. 2022/0394101 A1), in view of Woxblom et al. (U.S. 2012/0079092 A1), in view of Johnson et al. (U.S. 2011/0113360 A1).
Claim 2, Miao in view of Feinmesser, in view of Woxblom further teaches:
The method of claim 1.
Miao in view of Feinmesser, in view of Woxblom does not specifically teach:
Wherein the method includes creating a visual floor representation, including an indication of a specific location of the created zones on a display of a portable device.
Johnson teaches:
Wherein the method further includes creating a visual floor representation (Johnson, Fig. 13), including an indication of a specific location of the detection devices on a display of the display device (Johnson, Fig. 13, Paragraph [0127]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time of filing, to modify the system in Miao in view of Feinmesser, in view of Woxblom by integrating the teaching of the graphical user interface, as taught by Johnson.
The motivation would be to provide information to a user to allow the user to diagnose, troubleshoot, fix, and/or create work orders for problems (see Johnson, Paragraph [0040]).
As per the limitation of a specific location of the of the created zone, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art for the combination of Miao in view of Feinmesser, in view of Woxblom, in view of Johnson, to be capable of displaying the clusters (see Miao, Col. 8, Lines 50-61) in the graphical user display (see Johnson, Fig. 13, Paragraph [0127]).
As per the limitation of a portable device, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time of filing, to make the display devices in Johnson portable, as a matter of engineering choice. Such a modification would not render the invention inoperable for its intended function and would yield predictable results. See MPEP 2144.04.
Claim 3, Miao in view of Feinmesser, in view of Woxblom further teaches:
The method of claim 1.
Miao in view of Feinmesser, in view of Woxblom does not specifically teach:
Wherein the method includes transmitting a visual floor representation to the remote server from the computing device.
Johnson teaches:
Wherein a visual floor representation (Johnson, Fig. 13, Paragraph [0127]) is transmitted to the remote server from the computing device (Johnson, Paragraphs [0164-0165], The site data is transmitted to a server 2110 to allow the user to access and modify data and settings via Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs) 2140.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time of filing, to modify the system in Miao in view of Feinmesser, in view of Woxblom by integrating the teaching of the graphical user interface, as taught by Johnson.
The motivation would be to provide information to a user to allow the user to diagnose, troubleshoot, fix, and/or create work orders for problems (see Johnson, Paragraph [0040]).
Claim 5, Miao in view of Feinmesser, in view of Woxblom further teaches:
The method of claim 1.
Miao in view of Feinmesser, in view of Woxblom does not specifically teach:
Wherein the method includes determining physical locations for each of the event detection devices on a floor and positioning device indicators in locations on the visual floor representation corresponding to each event detection device's physical location.
Johnson teaches:
Wherein the method further includes determining physical locations for each of the event detection devices on a floor (Johnson, Fig. 13) and positioning device indicators in locations on the visual floor representation corresponding to each event detection device's physical location (Johnson, Fig. 13, Paragraph [0127], The components of the local monitoring and control system 200 are displayed and labeled on the floorplan view 1320.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time of filing, to modify the system in Miao in view of Feinmesser, in view of Woxblom by integrating the teaching of the graphical user interface, as taught by Johnson.
The motivation would be to provide information to a user to allow the user to diagnose, troubleshoot, fix, and/or create work orders for problems (see Johnson, Paragraph [0040]).
Claim 15, Miao in view of Feinmesser, in view of Woxblom further teaches:
The system of claim 11.
Miao in view of Feinmesser, in view of Woxblom does not specifically teach:
Wherein the computing device is configured to access a remote server storing floorplans of each floor of the building and use data from the floorplans to create the visual floor representation.
Johnson teaches:
Wherein a remote server includes a memory wherein floorplans of each floor of the building are stored therein (Johnson, Paragraph [0099], Each memory device 950 includes facility floorplans datastore 968. The central monitoring and control system 900 is thus functionally equivalent to a remote server.) and wherein the computing device accesses the floorplans and uses data from the floorplans to create the visual floor representation (Johnson, Fig. 13, Paragraph [0127], It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time of filing, for the user’s device to access the floorplan datastore in order to generate the floorplan on its display.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time of filing, to modify the system in Miao in view of Feinmesser by integrating the teaching of the graphical user interface, as taught by Johnson.
The motivation would be to provide information to a user to allow the user to diagnose, troubleshoot, fix, and/or create work orders for problems (see Johnson, Paragraph [0040]).
Claim 16, Miao teaches:
A method (Miao, Figs. 1 and 9), comprising:
initiating a zone configuration software by a control panel of a sensor system (Miao, Col. 8, Lines 50-61, The cluster heads are functionally equivalent to a control panel. The sensor networks communications are implemented based on a combination of hardware and software (see Miao, Col. 4, Lines 1-5).) having a plurality of event detection devices, the control panel controlling the functioning of the sensor system (Miao, Col. 8, Lines 50-61, Each of the sensor nodes that are not sensor cluster heads are functionally equivalent to event detection devices. Once the sensor nodes determine the cluster group to which they want to belong, the cluster heads receive all of the sensor node ID mask codes and assigns a channel bandwidth that the sensor nodes can send data to the sensor cluster heads, i.e. the cluster heads control the functioning of the sensor system.);
sending, via the control panel, instructions, to each event detection device of the sensor system, to initiate short range communication to communicate with other event detection devices within each event detection device's communication range (Miao, Col. 8, Lines 50-61, Each sensor cluster head advertises to all sensor nodes in the sensor field, which is functionally equivalent to initiating short range communication to detection devices within the communication range of the sensor cluster head. Furthermore, the assigning of a channel bandwidth to each sensor node in the cluster also affects the sensor nodes to transmit a short range communication including the sensor data (see Miao, Col. 5, Lines 62-65). Finally, the sensor nodes are capable of communicating with each other (see Miao, Col. 4, Lines 10-19), and it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time of filing, for the sensor nodes to communicate with each other in addition to communicating with the sensor cluster heads/forward stations.);
receiving event detection device identification information from, and identifying event each detection device within each event detection device's communication range (Miao, Col. 8, Lines 56-61, Each of the sensor cluster heads receives all the sensor node ID mask codes within the cluster group, which effectively identifies each sensor node. As per the limitation of identifying each event detection device within each event detection device's communication range, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time of filing, for each sensor node that selects the same cluster head to be in communication range with all other sensor nodes that select the same cluster head. As per the limitation of receive event detection device identification information from each event detection device within each event detection device's communication range, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art for each sensor node that transmits to a particular cluster head to be within communication range of all of the other sensor nodes that transmit to the same cluster head.);
determining and creating a plurality of zones of the alarm system by clustering event detection devices with a communication signal strength above a threshold strength value (Miao, Col. 8, Lines 50-61, The sensor nodes are clustered based on a signal strength of the advertisement from the sensor cluster heads. The plurality of clusters led by a respective cluster head thus represents a plurality of zones of the alarm system.).
Miao does not specifically teach:
Sending computing device executable instructions to a control panel of an alarm system;
accessing floorplan data and using the floorplan data to create a visual floor representation including an illustration of the created plurality of zones; and
wherein a different respective set of cause and effect rules applies to each of the plurality of zones.
Feinmesser teaches:
Sending computing device executable instructions to a computer product/system (Feinmesser, Paragraph [0217]) of an alarm system (Feinmesser, Paragraph [0146], The system can be implemented for an alarm clock application.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time of filing, to modify the system in Miao by integrating the teaching of location determination, as taught by Feinmesser.
The motivation would be to utilize known wireless techniques to improve on the accuracy of UWB signals (see Feinmesser, Paragraph [0171]), which is utilized by Miao (see Miao, Col. 1, Lines 6-8).
Miao in view of Feinmesser does not specifically teach:
Accessing floorplan data and using the floorplan data to create the visual floor representation including an illustration of the created zone; and
wherein a different respective set of cause and effect rules applies to each of the plurality of zones.
Woxblom teaches:
Wherein a different respective set of cause and effect rules applies to each of the plurality of zones (Woxblom, Paragraphs [0113-0114], Each cluster has a specific set of forwarding rules as well as to which devices a corresponding device can control. For example, a fire detector that detects smoke may also trigger a corresponding security camera, but not a washer/dryer or another appliance in a different cluster. The plurality of rules set for each cluster is thus equivalent to cause and effect rules.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time of filing, to modify the system of Miao in view of Feinmesser by integrating the teaching of clusters and resource management, as taught by Woxblom.
The motivation would be to provide more advanced and/or useful functionality to a user of the system (see Woxblom, Paragraph [0010]).
Miao in view of Feinmesser, in view of Woxblom does not specifically teach:
Accessing floorplan data and using the floorplan data to create the visual floor representation including an illustration of the created zone.
Johnson teaches:
Accessing floorplan data and using the floorplan data to create the visual floor representation including an illustration of the detection devices (Johnson, Fig. 13, Paragraph [0127]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time of filing, to modify the system in Miao in view of Feinmesser by integrating the teaching of the graphical user interface, as taught by Johnson.
The motivation would be to provide information to a user to allow the user to diagnose, troubleshoot, fix, and/or create work orders for problems (see Johnson, Paragraph [0040]).
As per the limitation of an illustration of the created zone, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art for the combination of Miao in view of Feinmesser, in view of Johnson, to be capable of displaying the clusters (see Miao, Col. 8, Lines 50-61) in the graphical user display (see Johnson, Fig. 13, Paragraph [0127]).
Claim 17, Miao in view of Feinmesser, in view of Woxblom, in view of Johnson further teaches:
The method of claim 16, wherein the method includes, including, in the visual floor representation (Johnson, Fig. 13, Paragraph [0127]), an indication of created plurality of zones and their boundaries with respect to each other on a display (Johnson, Fig. 13, Paragraph [0127], It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art for the combination of Miao in view of Feinmesser, in view of Johnson, to be capable of displaying the clusters (see Miao, Col. 8, Lines 50-61) in the graphical user display (see Johnson, Fig. 13, Paragraph [0127]). The locations of the sensors/detectors are thus representative of their respective boundaries.) of a portable device (Johnson, Fig. 13, Paragraph [0127], As per the limitation of a portable device, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time of filing, to make the display devices in Johnson portable, as a matter of engineering choice. Such a modification would not render the invention inoperable for its intended function and would yield predictable results. See MPEP 2144.04.).
Claim 18, Miao in view of Feinmesser, in view of Woxblom, in view of Johnson further teaches:
The method of claim 16, wherein the method includes determining physical locations for each of the event detection devices on a floor (Johnson, Fig. 13, Paragraph [0127]) and positioning device indicators in locations on the visual floor representation corresponding to each event detection device's physical location (Johnson, Fig. 13, Paragraph [0127], The components of the local monitoring and control system 200 are displayed and labeled on the floorplan view 1320.).
Claim 19, Miao in view of Feinmesser, in view of Woxblom, in view of Johnson further teaches:
The method of claim 16, wherein the method includes including at least one non-communication equipped system device within each of the created plurality of zones (Miao, Fig. 2: 260, A solar cell receiver 260, which is part of each sensor node 110, is an example of a non-communication equipped system device that is assigned to each cluster.).
Claim 20, Miao in view of Feinmesser, in view of Woxblom, in view of Johnson further teaches:
The method of claim 19, wherein the method includes defining the different respective sets of cause and effect rules that each define a particular cause from an input detection device and an output from the non-communication equipped system device (Miao, Col. 8, Lines 50-61, The “cause and effect rules” are the respective clusters that are assigned to each group of sensors and their corresponding components, e.g. non-communication devices (see Woxblom, Paragraphs [0113-0114]).).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 12/16/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
In response to the Applicant’s argument on Page 8 that the Miao reference fails to teach devices other than the cluster head receiving event detection device identification information from each event detection devices within communication range, the Examiner respectfully disagrees that the claims, as currently amended, recite this aspect of the Applicant’s invention. As discussed during the interview conducted on 12/12/2025, it appears that the Applicant intends for each event detection device to be capable of receiving identification information from all of the other event detection devices that are within communication with itself, each transmitting all of its collected identification information to the computing device, and determining which event detection devices should be clustered together by utilizing the identification information transmitted from each event detection device, e.g. if the identification information transmitted by a set of event detection devices contain similar identification information. The claims, as currently amended, are interpreted as including the steps of: receive event detection device identification information from each event detection device within each event detection device's communication range and identify each event detection device within each event detection device's communication range. As explained in the rejection above, the cluster head in Miao receives sensor node ID mask codes from each sensor node that receives an advertisement transmitted by the cluster heads (see Miao, Col. 8, Lines 55-61), wherein each of the sensor nodes that transmit their ID mask code to a specific cluster head would be placed in a cluster. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time of filing, for all of the transmitting sensor nodes to be within the other sensor node’s communication range, because they would all be collectively placed in a cluster. Additionally, the sensor nodes transmit their ID mask codes to the cluster head whose advertisement signal has the greatest signal strength (see Miao, Col. 8, Lines 48-55). It is within the scope of Miao for all of the sensor nodes that transmit to a single cluster head to represent all of the sensor nodes that are in communication range of each other. For example, if the sensor nodes that transmit to a single cluster head only receive the advertisement from the single cluster head, one of ordinary skill in the art would recognize that the sensor nodes may not be in communication range with other cluster heads/sensor nodes.
The Examiner further notes that it appears that the Applicant intends for the “receive” step to be performed by the event detection device, however, the claims do not inherently or explicitly define this aspect of the Applicant’s invention. For example, claim 11 defines the “receive” step under “wherein the computing device is configured to:”. 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).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JAMES J YANG whose telephone number is (571)270-5170. The examiner can normally be reached 9:30am-6:00p 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, BRIAN ZIMMERMAN can be reached at (571) 272-3059. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/JAMES J YANG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2686