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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 1-3, 5-10, 12-15, and 20-22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
Claim 1 requires “the Wi-Fi router to convert the optical signal into a Wi-Fi signal.” However, the specification as originally filed does not support this limitation. As shown in Fig. 2 submitted by the Applicant, the Wi-Fi router corresponds to the wireless router/media converter 214.The figure further shows that the wireless router/media converter 214 is connected to the transducer 202. As its name indicates, a transducer is a device that converts energy from one form to another. Para. 18 of the specification states, “The transducers 202 may be in communications with the transducers 204 of the indoor unit 102 via the optical-based signals.” In other words, optical signal is transmitted and received between the two transducers, and the transducer converts optical signals into electrical signals. Consequently, the Wi-Fi router receives an electrical signal generated by the transducer rather than an optical signal directly. As a result, the Wi-Fi router cannot convert the optical signal into a Wi-Fi signal as required by Claim 1. Therefore, the specification fails to provide written description support for the claim limitation.
The dependent claims 2-3, 5-8, and 21-22 are rejected for being dependent on the rejected claim 1.
Claim 9 requires “a Wi-Fi router to convert the optical signals into a Wi-Fi signals.” However, the specification as originally filed does not support this limitation. As shown in Fig. 2 submitted by the Applicant, the Wi-Fi router corresponds to the wireless router/media converter 214.The figure further shows that the wireless router/media converter 214 is connected to the transducer 202. As its name indicates, a transducer is a device that converts energy from one form to another. Para. 18 of the specification states, “The transducers 202 may be in communications with the transducers 204 of the indoor unit 102 via the optical-based signals.” In other words, optical signal is transmitted and received between the two transducers, and the transducer converts optical signals into electrical signals. Consequently, the Wi-Fi router receives an electrical signal generated by the transducer rather than an optical signal directly. As a result, the Wi-Fi router cannot convert the optical signal into a Wi-Fi signal as required by Claim 9. Therefore, the specification fails to provide written description support for the claim limitation.
The dependent claims 10, 12-15, and 20 are rejected for being dependent on the rejected claim 9.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 16-17 and 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Au (US10277331B1) in view of Jamison et al. (US11546498B2).
Regarding claim 16, Au discloses An indoor unit of a window mounted wireless gateway system (Fig. 3B; the second unit 212) comprising:
an antenna (Fig. 3B; the antenna 312) for sending and receiving wireless signals associated with a user equipment (Fig. 3B; The antenna 312 sends/receives the RF signal to/from a UE 104); and
a first transducer in electronic communication (Fig. 3B; the optical receiver 306. A transducer is a device that converts energy from one form to another. The optical receiver 306 converts an optical signal into an electrical signal) and optical communication with an outdoor unit of the window mounted wireless gateway system (Fig. 3B; Column 7, lines 46-50; The second unit 212 includes an optical receiver 306 to receive modulated laser signals, which provides a modulating current to a RF signal source 308 to convert the modulated laser signal back into a modulated RF signal. The laser diode 304 and the optical receiver is physically aligned through the window as shown. The first unit 210 is the a point of entry and exit (or gateway) that connects a larger network through base station 102).
However, the present system does not expressly disclose Wi-Fi router to decode the Wi-Fi signals.
Jamison et al. discloses Wi-Fi router (Fig. 4; the Wifi access point 73) to decode the Wi-Fi signals (Fig. 4; Column 8, lines 48-53; The first location station 62 comprises an Ethernet Router 73 or the like that enables connection of the first location station with a Wifi network to provide the Wifi access point at Point A to enable the transmission and receipt of wireless information between the first connection station 62 and the user control devices 72).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add Wi-Fi router. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to do so in order to provide wireless connection to multiple user devices creating a wireless network.
Regarding claim 17, the present combination discloses The indoor unit of claim 16, as described and applied above, further comprising a power supply (Au, Fig. 3B; the power supply 332) coupled to a power source (Au, Fig. 3B; the power supply 332 is plugged into AC outlet) and a wireless power transmitter, the wireless power transmitter to generate a wireless charging signal (Au, Fig. 3B; Column 9, line 9-16; the indoor unit, e.g., the second unit 212, of the penetrator device 200 may include an inductive charging mechanism 328 to provide energy to an inductive charging mechanism 330 included within the first unit 210 so that plugging in a power supply 332 of the first unit 210 into an AC power outlet will also provide power to a power supply 334, e.g., a battery, of the first unit 210 to thereby keep both units 210, 212 operating).
Regarding claim 19, the present combination discloses The indoor unit of claim 16, as described and applied above, further comprising an adhesive for coupling the indoor unit to an interior surface of a window (Au, Fig. 2A; Column 7, lines 9-12; a first unit 210 and a second unit 212 of the penetrator device 200 are affixed to opposite sides, e.g., planes of glass 206, 208, of the thermal pane window 202 using an adhesive 214).
Claim(s) 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Au (US10277331B1) and Jamison et al. (US11546498B2) in view of Rajapaksa (US10505909B2).
Regarding claim 18, the present combination discloses The indoor unit of claim 16, as described and applied above.
However, the present combination does not expressly disclose an auxiliary unit for encoding and decoding additional Wi-Fi signals associated with an internet of things device.
Rajapaksa discloses an auxiliary unit for encoding and decoding additional Wi-Fi signals associated with an internet of things device (Fig. 1; Column 2, lines 21-31; Interconnection between IoT devices may be provided using a variety of communication standards, such as Wireless Fidelity (WiFi) protocols utilizing an Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 family of standards, including 802.11n, 802.11 ac, 802.11 ad, 802.11 ah, and the like).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to add the BLUETOOTH communication components to the second unit 212 of Au in order to implement IoT technology to minimizes human effort by allowing devices to communicate and perform tasks automatically without manual intervention.
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 JAI M LEE whose telephone number is (571)272-5870. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:5:30 PM.
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JAI M. LEE
Examiner
Art Unit 2634
/JAI M LEE/Examiner, Art Unit 2634