DETAILED ACTION
Notice of 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 .
Claims 2 and 5-6 are cancelled. Claim(s) 1, 3-4 and 7-14 are pending and are rejected.
Response to Amendment
This Office Action is responsive to the amendment filed on 12/19/2025.
Claims 1, 3-4 and 7-13 are amended and are being fully considered by the examiner.
In response to applicant’s amendments to claims 12-13, all the claim objections to claims 12-13 set forth in the previous office action has been withdrawn.
In response to applicant’s amendments to claim 1, all the 35 USC § 101 rejections of claims 1, 3-4 and 7-14 set forth in the previous office action has been withdrawn.
This action is MADE FINAL. Please see response to arguments section for further details.
Claim Objections
Claim(s) 1 is/are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 1 (amended):
Claims recites, an target control apparatus. The use of “an” here is a typographical error. For the examination purpose, in broadest reasonable interpretation, the above described limitation is construed as: a target control apparatus.
Claims recites in multiple places, selecting, via the user. The term, “via” the user is vague and is not generally used for human user. Since the user is a human and not a machine, it is generally better to use the term “by” the user. For the examination purpose, in broadest reasonable interpretation, the above described limitation is construed as: selecting, by the user.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
35 U.S.C. 112(b)
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
Claims 1, 3-4 and 7-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
Claim 1:
Claims recites, selecting, via a user, a stock control apparatus out of the stock control apparatuses detected by the computer. However, earlier, claim recites, starting a detection mode in which a computer of the automation system scans at least one network for stock control apparatuses and/or for target control apparatuses; such that a detection mode is started where computer scans for stock control apparatuses, but claim never recites any stock control apparatuses actually has been detected. Because, scanning for detection, and actually detecting are two different operations. Thus, the stock control apparatuses detected by the computer is not clear. For the examination purpose, in broadest reasonable interpretation, it is construed that after the scanning step, the computer detects the stock control apparatus before the selecting step.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claims 3-4 and 7-14:
Based on their dependencies in claim 1, claims 3-4 and 7-14 are also rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) for the same reasons.
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 (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 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.
Claim(s) 1, 3-4 and 7-14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)/102(a)(2) as being anticipated by GIVEHCHI et al. (US20180351803A1 equivalent US publication of EP3410240A1 listed in the IDS dated 08/17/2023) [hereinafter GIVEHCHI].
Regarding claim 1 (amended):
GIVEHCHI disclose(s), A method to configure an target control apparatus of an automation system, the method comprising: [(¶29) “method for…cloning at least some devices of a machine that facilitates an easier and faster…cloning of devices”… (¶13) “gathering the configuration information of at least some of the detected devices and storing the configuration information in the data model, transferring at least parts of the configuration information onto a new device.”];
starting a detection mode in which a computer of the automation system scans at least one network for stock control apparatuses and/or for target control apparatuses; [(¶36) “root device performs the discovery of the cooperating devices before the new device is connected to the machine.” “The discovery can be performed automatically by the root device. Particularly, the root device can scan the machine for other devices,” “When another device (i.e. a cooperating device) is found, the found device and its configuration information are added to the data model”… (¶19) “In case a new device is connected to the machine (and thereby also connected to the root device), the root device can transfer the respective configuration information to the new device,”… (¶37) “the root device requests the found PLC/device to provide a list of all devices connected to the PLC and to provide the configuration information of all devices connected to the PLC.”];
selecting, via a user, a stock control apparatus out of the stock control apparatuses detected by the computer; [ (¶54): “The root device may nonetheless prompt a user for confirmation (and potentially authentication) before transferring the configuration information to the new device, in order to enhance safety & security.”… (¶33) “servo drive (i.e. a cooperating device)…a new servo drive (i.e. a new device) is connected to the machine. The new servo drive corresponds to the “old” servo drive (i.e. has identical hardware), wherein the old servo drive is present in the data model. After connecting the new servo drive to the machine, the root device transfers the configuration information (e.g. the firmware and device parameters of the “old” servo drive) that is stored in the data model to the new servo drive, thereby initializing the new servo drive with the same parameters as the old servo drive (e.g. identical parameters for acceleration, maximum speed, etc.).”
Examiner notes the claim objections and 35 U.S.C. 112 rejections set forth in this office action.
Examiner notes that, GIVEHCHI teaches, selection of old device (claimed stock control apparatus) that matches the target/new device.];
opening, via the computer, a stock configuration of the stock control apparatus selected by the user; selecting, via the user, at least one feature from the stock configuration; buffer-storing, via the computer, the at least one feature from the stock configuration, in which the computer transfers the at least one feature as a data packet into a buffer-store; [(¶33) “servo drive (i.e. a cooperating device)…a new servo drive (i.e. a new device) is connected to the machine. The new servo drive corresponds to the “old” servo drive (i.e. has identical hardware), wherein the old servo drive is present in the data model.” “In general, a firmware and corresponding parameters of a cooperating device can be stored in the data model during the discovery process—” “This firmware and corresponding parameters can later be transferred to the new device.”….(¶36) “root device performs the discovery of the cooperating devices before the new device is connected to the machine. During the discovery process the data model is filled with configuration information about the different cooperating devices of the machine. The discovery can be performed automatically by the root device. Particularly, the root device can scan the machine for other devices, as has been laid out above. When another device (i.e. a cooperating device) is found, the found device and its configuration information are added to the data model”
Examiner notes that, in broadest reasonable interpretation, the plain meaning of buffer-storing is: a temporary hold of data (e.g.; selected data) as it is transferred or ready to be transferred between two different devices (transfer of selected data). As such, buffer-storing is interpreted as holding data in memory temporarily until it is transferred/transmitted.
GIVEHCHI teaches, once a new device is discovered, the root device collects configuration information from the matched old device (claimed stock control apparatus) and holds it in the configuration data model until it is being transferred to the new device (claimed buffer-storing). One of the ordinary skilled in the art will understand that, GIVEHCHI’s use of computer/ handheld electronic devices with user interface for selection, and memory to temporarily storing configuration data (i.e.; computer with a ram) as described in GIVEHCHI’s (¶19) “using a PC (Personal Computer) with engineering tools at the time when the configuration information is written to the new device.”];
starting a transfer mode; selecting, via the user, a target control apparatus; and transferring, via the computer, the at least one feature from the buffer- store to the target control apparatus that was selected, [(¶33) “After connecting the new servo drive to the machine, the root device transfers the configuration information (e.g. the firmware and device parameters of the “old” servo drive) that is stored in the data model to the new servo drive, thereby initializing the new servo drive with the same parameters as the old servo drive (e.g. identical parameters for acceleration, maximum speed, etc.”… (¶76) “The new root device 14 b then performs a discovery process 34 thereby discovering a new servo drive 16 b, a new second PLC 18 b, a new optical sensor 20 b and a new electric drill 22 b. The new root device 14 b can then transfer the respective configuration information from the data model 36 to the respective new cooperating device 16 b, 18 b, 20 b, 22 b. After the transfer of this configuration information, an identical copy of the machine 10 has been created.”
Examiner notes that, root device collects and holds the selected configuration information as described above, and in a transfer mode, the configuration data is transferred to the new/target device selected from the discovery process].
wherein the steps of selecting the stock control apparatus, opening the stock configuration of the stock control apparatus, and selecting and buffer-storing the at least one feature from the stock configuration are repeated for more than one stock control apparatus in order to select features from different stock configurations of different stock control apparatuses, and [(¶36) “the root device performs the discovery of the cooperating devices before the new device is connected to the machine. During the discovery process the data model is filled with configuration information about the different cooperating devices of the machine. The discovery can be performed automatically by the root device. Particularly, the root device can scan the machine for other devices, as has been laid out above. When another device (i.e. a cooperating device) is found, the found device and its configuration information are added to the data model—or the data model can be updated to reflect that the new device replaces an old device (this action might require user confirmation and/or assignment by the user which new device replaces which cooperating device). After a cooperating device has been found, the root device will download the current configuration (e.g. a firmware) of the found device and will store the configuration as configuration information in the data model. This process is repeated until the root device cannot find further cooperating devices.”
Examiner notes that, see as described above in claim 1, the steps described by this claim, and GIVEHCHI ¶36 describes these steps are repeated for each discovered devices/new devices];
wherein the features from the different stock configurations are transferred to the target control apparatus that was selected in a single transfer step. [(¶76) “The new root device 14 b then performs a discovery process 34 thereby discovering a new servo drive 16 b, a new second PLC 18 b, a new optical sensor 20 b and a new electric drill 22 b. The new root device 14 b can then transfer the respective configuration information from the data model 36 to the respective new cooperating device 16 b, 18 b, 20 b, 22 b. After the transfer of this configuration information, an identical copy of the machine 10 has been created.”
Examiner notes that, features from different control configurations is broad, and can be any features from various configurations.
As such, GIVEHCHI teaches transfer of various features from various stored configurations to the discovered new/target/cooperative device in a data transfer step].
Regarding claim 3 (amended):
GIVEHCHI disclose(s) all the elements of claim 1, and further disclose(s), wherein the stock control apparatuses and / or the target control apparatuses are located in a common network or in multiple different networks. [(¶36) “The cooper- sting devices 16, 18, 20, 22 are connected to each other and to the root device 14 via Ethernet connections 24.”… (¶70) “the root device 14 continuously and automatically performs a discovery process 34 using different communication protocols during which the cooperating devices 16, 18, 20, 22 are discovered and their respective firmware and used parameters are downloaded to a data model 36 (FIG. 1) which is stored in the root device 14.”… (¶27) “The devices of the machine can be interconnected via a field bus. Also, Ethernet or industrial Ethernet connections (e.g. Sercos III and/or EtherNet/IP and/or ProfiNet) can be used.”
Examiner notes that claim requires only one of the stock control apparatuses and / or the target control apparatuses and further requires located in only one of common network or in multiple different networks.
As such, GIVEHCHI teaches cooperating devices 16, 18, 20, 22 etc. are located in a common network; ethernet network 24 or fieldbus network; also as shown in fig. 2].
Regarding claim 4 (amended):
GIVEHCHI disclose(s) all the elements of claim 1, and further disclose(s), ending the detection mode. [(¶36) “After a cooperating device has been found, the root device will download the current configuration (e.g. a firmware) of the found device and will store the configuration as configuration information in the data model. This process is repeated until the root device cannot find further cooperating devices.”
Examiner notes that, in broadest reasonable interpretation, ending the detection mode is broad, and can mean once the purpose of discovery is completed.
As such, GIVEHCHI teaches, after the discovery process (i.e.; end of discovery/detection), the new device is connected to network this process is repeated until discovery process ends.].
Regarding claim 7 (amended):
GIVEHCHI disclose(s) all the elements of claim 1, and further disclose(s), wherein in the step of selecting the target control apparatus, more than one target control apparatus is selected, and wherein in the step of transferring the at least one feature of the stock configuration, the at least one of the stock configuration is transferred to each of the selected target control apparatuses. [(¶76) “The new root device 14 b then performs a discovery process 34 thereby discovering a new servo drive 16 b, a new second PLC 18 b, a new optical sensor 20 b and a new electric drill 22 b. The new root device 14 b can then transfer the respective configuration information from the data model 36 to the respective new cooperating device 16 b, 18 b, 20 b, 22 b. After the transfer of this configuration information, an identical copy of the machine 10 has been created.”
Examiner notes, GIVEHCHI teaches, transfer of configurations that are held to multiple target devices such as respective new cooperating device 16 b, 18 b, 20 b, 22 b].
Regarding claim 8 (amended):
GIVEHCHI disclose(s) all the elements of claim 1, and further disclose(s), wherein the steps of selecting the target control apparatus and the step of transferring are repeatedly performed for multiple target control apparatuses. [(¶36) “the root device performs the discovery of the cooperating devices before the new device is connected to the machine. During the discovery process the data model is filled with configuration information about the different cooperating devices of the machine. The discovery can be performed automatically by the root device. Particularly, the root device can scan the machine for other devices, as has been laid out above. When another device (i.e. a cooperating device) is found, the found device and its configuration information are added to the data model—or the data model can be updated to reflect that the new device replaces an old device (this action might require user confirmation and/or assignment by the user which new device replaces which cooperating device). After a cooperating device has been found, the root device will download the current configuration (e.g. a firmware) of the found device and will store the configuration as configuration information in the data model. This process is repeated until the root device cannot find further cooperating devices.”… (¶76) “The new root device 14 b then performs a discovery process 34 thereby discovering a new servo drive 16 b, a new second PLC 18 b, a new optical sensor 20 b and a new electric drill 22 b. The new root device 14 b can then transfer the respective configuration information from the data model 36 to the respective new cooperating device 16 b, 18 b, 20 b, 22 b. After the transfer of this configuration information, an identical copy of the machine 10 has been created.”
Examiner notes that, a target/new/cooperative device is selected as found in the discovery and transferring the stored model with configuration data is transferred to respective target/new/cooperative device and this process is repeated for multiple target/new/cooperative devices].
Regarding claim 9 (amended):
GIVEHCHI disclose(s) all the elements of claim 1, and further disclose(s), displaying the at least one feature that was selected. [(¶36) “The controlling software (i.e. the machine assistant) may be configured to guide a user step by step through the process of replacing and/or cloning devices. The controlling software (i.e. the machine assistant) can have a user interface which guides a user through any necessary steps, as mentioned before.”… (¶47) “cloning of devices can be controlled from any computer or even a handheld Tablet-PC or smartphone that is able to process the website. The above-mentioned user interface can be formed by the website.”…(¶36) “require user confirmation and/or assignment by the user which new device replaces which cooperating device).”… (¶54) “if a device is….replaced by a new device, the root device can recognize that a new device is present, when the root device performs the discovery process… The root device may nonetheless prompt a user for confirmation (and potentially authentication) before transferring the configuration information to the new device, in order to enhance safety & security.”
Examiner notes that, the user is guided step by step by the user interface prior to sending of the configuration data and user is given the option to select configuration information, and the system/method is performed using a computer or handheld device such that these devices forms the user interface by the website such that an ordinary skilled in the art will understand that a display device is present where the user is guided step by step to perform selection of configuration before the information is transferred to the target/new device (i.e.; require user confirmation)].
Regarding claim 10 (amended):
GIVEHCHI disclose(s) all the elements of claim 9, and further disclose(s), wherein the step of displaying the at least one feature that was selected takes place before the transfer of the at least one feature to the target control apparatus. [(¶36) “require user confirmation and/or assignment by the user which new device replaces which cooperating device).”… (¶54) “if a device is….replaced by a new device, the root device can recognize that a new device is present, when the root device performs the discovery process… The root device may nonetheless prompt a user for confirmation (and potentially authentication) before transferring the configuration information to the new device, in order to enhance safety & security.”].
Regarding claim 11 (amended):
GIVEHCHI disclose(s) all the elements of claim 9, and further disclose(s), wherein the step of displaying the at least one feature that was selected takes place after the step of selecting the target control apparatus and before the step of transferring. [(¶76) “The new root device 14 b then performs a discovery process 34 thereby discovering a new servo drive 16 b, a new second PLC 18 b, a new optical sensor 20 b and a new electric drill 22 b. The new root device 14 b can then transfer the respective configuration information from the data model 36 to the respective new cooperating device 16 b, 18 b, 20 b, 22 b. After the transfer of this configuration information, an identical copy of the machine 10 has been created.”…
(¶47) “cloning of devices can be controlled from any computer or even a handheld Tablet-PC or smartphone that is able to process the website. The above-mentioned user interface can be formed by the website.”…(¶36) “require user confirmation and/or assignment by the user which new device replaces which cooperating device).”… (¶54) “if a device is….replaced by a new device, the root device can recognize that a new device is present, when the root device performs the discovery process… The root device may nonetheless prompt a user for confirmation (and potentially authentication) before transferring the configuration information to the new device, in order to enhance safety & security.”
Examiner notes that, in broadest reasonable interpretation, the limitation, selecting the at least one target control apparatus, means that the selection of target control apparatus can be done by any means such as user or automatically by the system.
As described above in claim 1, selection of a new/target/cooperative device is performed by discovering the new/target/cooperative device, then as described above in claims 9-10, after the device is discovered/selected, the configuration information can be presented to the user in a user interface such as a display of mobile device or a computer before the configuration can be sent to the new/selected target device].
Regarding claim 12 (amended):
GIVEHCHI disclose(s) all the elements of claim 1, and further disclose(s), wherein after the step of selecting the target control apparatus and before the step of transferring, a step of selecting features to be transferred to the target control apparatus, from the at least one feature that is buffer-stored, is performed. [(¶76) “The new root device 14 b then performs a discovery process 34 thereby discovering a new servo drive 16 b, a new second PLC 18 b, a new optical sensor 20 b and a new electric drill 22 b. The new root device 14 b can then transfer the respective configuration information from the data model 36 to the respective new cooperating device 16 b, 18 b, 20 b, 22 b. After the transfer of this configuration information, an identical copy of the machine 10 has been created.”…
(¶47) “cloning of devices can be controlled from any computer or even a handheld Tablet-PC or smartphone that is able to process the website. The above-mentioned user interface can be formed by the website.”…(¶36) “require user confirmation and/or assignment by the user which new device replaces which cooperating device).”… (¶54) “if a device is….replaced by a new device, the root device can recognize that a new device is present, when the root device performs the discovery process… The root device may nonetheless prompt a user for confirmation (and potentially authentication) before transferring the configuration information to the new device, in order to enhance safety & security.”
Examiner notes that, in broadest reasonable interpretation, the limitation, selecting the at least one target control apparatus, means that the selection of target control apparatus can be done by any means such as user or automatically by the system.
As described above in claim 1, selection of a new/target/cooperative device is performed by discovering the new/target/cooperative device, and after the device is discovered/selected, the configuration (i.e.; buffered; temporary stored model with configuration for the purpose of transfer as described above in claim 1.) information can be presented to the user in a user interface such as a display of mobile device or a computer for user to make selection (i.e.; prompt a user for confirmation) before the configuration can be sent to the new/selected target device].
Regarding claim 13 (amended):
GIVEHCHI disclose(s) all the elements of claim 1, and further disclose(s), wherein after the step of selecting the target control apparatus and before the step of transferring, a step of manually changing the at least one feature that is buffer-stored is performed. [(¶36) “require user confirmation and/or assignment by the user which new device replaces which cooperating device).”… (¶54) “if a device is….replaced by a new device, the root device can recognize that a new device is present, when the root device performs the discovery process… The root device may nonetheless prompt a user for confirmation (and potentially authentication) before transferring the configuration information to the new device, in order to enhance safety & security.”…(¶76) “After all cooperating devices 16, 18, 20, 22 have been found the user 32 can use a request 38 to be shown all discovered devices 16, 18, 20, 22. The root device 14 then checks the data model 36 and uses an acknowledgement 40 to show to the user all found cooperating devices 16, 18, 20, 22. The user can then use a configuration command 42 to change the configuration of the cooperating devices 16, 18, 20, 22 or remove some of the found devices 16, 18, 20, 22 from the data model 36. Thereafter, the root device 14 resumes the discovery process 34 periodically and updates the data model 36, if necessary.”… (¶74) “The root device 14 can then transfer configuration information from the data model 36 to the new electric drill 22 a, thereby allowing the new electric drill 22 a to perform the same functions as the electric drill 22.”].
Regarding claim 14:
GIVEHCHI disclose(s) all the elements of claim 1, and further disclose(s), An apparatus to carry out the method according to claim 1. [(¶68) “The root device 14 runs a webserver 26 to which a mobile device, depicted as Tablet-PC 28, is connected via a wireless network and/or an Internet connection 30.”… (¶69) “FIG. 4 schematically shows a user 32 that operates the Tablet-PC 28, the root device 14”… (¶75) “The user 32 can then use a replace command 44 which is sent from the Tablet-PC 28 to the root device 14.”… (¶47) “root device runs a webserver that hosts a website which allows controlling the replacing and/or cloning of cooperating devices. Due to the webserver, the replacing and/or cloning of devices can be controlled from any computer or even a handheld Tablet-PC or smartphone that is able to process the website. The above-mentioned user interface can be formed by the website.”
Examiner notes that, as describes in the 35 U.S.C. 101 section, claimed “apparatus” is a software per se.
In broadest reasonable interpretation, for the examination purpose, apparatus is interpreted as, any hardware or software in the system participating in the process of performing steps of the method of claim 1.
GIVEHCHI teaches various apparatuses (any hardware or software) as shown in figures 1-3, such as root device 14 with webserver 26, Tablet-PC 28, root device runs a webserver that hosts a website etc. to perform the method as described above in claim 1].
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 12/19/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant responds
(a) Claim Rejections under 35 U.S.C. 102
Applicant hereby incorporates a modified version of claim 5 into claim 1, along with claim 6.
Applicant submits, however, that Givehchi does not disclose the modified features of claims 5 and 6 (now incorporated into claim 1), i.e., that the features from different stock configurations of different stock control apparatuses are selected and then transferred to the target control apparatus (i.e., a single target control apparatus) in a single transfer step. In other words, there is no selection of features from multiple devices and then a transfer of those selected features into one device. Rather, in Givehchi, only a 1:1 transfer of configurations from device to corresponding device takes place.
The distinguishing features of amended claim 1 compared to Givehchi thus lie in the fact that the desired configuration can be selected from several existing configurations of several existing stock control apparatuses and then transferred to the target control apparatus in a single transfer step. This increases engineering efficiency because it reduces the need to switch back and forth between the existing apparatuses.
Furthermore, Applicant submits that one skilled in the art would not be motivated to modify Givehchi to arrive at the claimed invention because Givehchi assumes that defective old hardware in a system is replaced by new hardware or that a device is cloned. In this context, it is neither necessary nor in any way advantageous to transfer features from different existing devices to a new device. On the contrary, the decisive feature of a replacement or cloning process is precisely that the configuration of the original device is adopted identically. Accordingly, one skilled in the art would not even consider the subject matter of amended claim 1 based on the teachings of Givehchi.
(Pages: 9-10)
With respect to (a) above, Examiner appreciates the interpretative description given by Applicant in response.
Regarding the remarks, Givehchi does not disclose the modified features of claims 5 and 6 (now incorporated into claim 1), i.e., that the features from different stock configurations of different stock control apparatuses are selected and then transferred to the target control apparatus (i.e., a single target control apparatus) in a single transfer step:
In response to applicant's argument that the references fail to show certain features of the invention, it is noted that the features upon which applicant relies (i.e., the features from different stock configurations of different stock control apparatuses are selected and then transferred to the target control apparatus (i.e., a single target control apparatus) in a single transfer step) are not recited in the rejected claim(s). 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).
Even though, earlier, claim recites, …select features from different stock configurations of different stock control apparatuses; claim also recites, selecting, via the user, at least one feature from the stock configuration, however, in the “single transfer step”, wherein the features from the different stock configurations are transferred to the target control apparatus that was selected in a single transfer step, claim only describes features from different stock configurations that were selected but doesn’t specifically recite selected features are from “different stock control apparatuses”. More specifically, claim doesn’t recite, wherein the selected features from the different stock configurations of the different stock control apparatuses are transferred to the target control apparatus in a single transfer step.
Therefore, GIVEHCHI teaches the limitation, wherein the features from the different stock configurations are transferred to the target control apparatus that was selected in a single transfer step as described in the current office action.
Regarding the arguments, Furthermore, Applicant submits that one skilled in the art would not be motivated to modify Givehchi to arrive at the claimed invention, this argument doesn’t apply, because no modification to Givehchi is made to arrive at the claimed invention; and therefore claims 1, 3-4 and 7-14 are rejected under 35 USC § 102.
Applicant’s arguments are fully considered, but for the above described reasons, they are not persuasive; therefore, claims 1, 3-4 and 7-14 are rejected under 35 USC § 102 as set forth in the current office action.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure is listed in the PTO-892 Notice of Reference Cited document mailed on 09/22/2025.
Buck (US20140156784A1) - Method and system for providing an application to an electronic device for enhancing user security:
(¶18): Automatically collect the selected application and configuration information, state information and/or application data associated with the selected application. The collected information is referred to as “cloning data.” Once the cloning data is collected, the source device can be configured to transmit at least a portion of the cloning data to the target electronic device. The cloning data can be transmitted directly to the target electronic device, e.g., via a Bluetooth connection, or indirectly via an application provisioning service or an application store service.
Victoriano et al. (US20200103844A1) - Bulk commissioning of field devices within a process plant:
(¶6): The system and method described herein enable the user to perform configuration activities for field device parameters, and to set these configuration changes for bulk transfer, within a system that provides contextual information about the field device component to which the field device parameters relate,…provides a simple and easy to understand methodology of finding various parameters in the configuration screens of the configuration utility.
Nixon et al. (US6687698B1) - Accessing and updating a configuration database from distributed physical locations within a process control system:
(column 25, lines 5-15): A lightweight is established for that configuration component within the shared cache 214 and this lightweight reads and stores a copy of the configuration component from the database 203. Thereafter, every other client that subscribes to the same configuration component will have its client thread connected to the same lightweight, which means that the second, third, etc. client that subscribes to this configuration component can read the component from the lightweight instead of from the configuration database 203, which reduces the number of reads from the configuration database 203.
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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 MOHAMMED SHAFAYET whose telephone number is (571)272-8239. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:30 AM-5:00 PM.
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, Kenneth Lo can be reached at (571) 272-9774. 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.
/M.S./
Patent Examiner,
Art Unit 2116
/CHAD G ERDMAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2116
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