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 § 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.
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.
Claims 1 – 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shi et al. CN 114793929 (hereinafter Shi) in view of STEWART et al. US 2015/0342143 (hereinafter STEWART) and Maddahi et al. US 2023/0292706 (hereinafter Maddahi).
Regarding claim 1, Shi teaches: a pet management system (Fig. 2), comprising:
an edge computer control system including ([0012] - - the combination of remote terminal and cloud is an edge computer control system):
an application graphic user interface (GUI) to receive videos of a pet, a name of the pet to create a pet profile ([0026] - - model is trained on cloud, training data is data set based on the images obtained by the camera module; therefore there is an interface to receive videos of a pet, the type of a pet is a name of the pet; );
at least one database to store the pet names, videos for each pet profile ([0015] - - data stored at cloud);
a first wireless communications interface to wirelessly communicate with at least one pet management device ([0012] - - the feeding device communicates with a remote terminal and a cloud; feeding device is a pet management device); and
at least one computer processor configured:
to train and store identification models to analyze video frames of videos received through the GUI to identity a pet and associate the name with the pet ([0026] - - model is trained on cloud, training data is data set based on the images obtained by the camera module), to transmit instructions to a pet management device assigned to a pet profile to capture videos of pets ([0017] - - user issues a control command; control the camera module to acquire videos and transmit the video to the cloud);
to store object detection and tracking models to detect and track pets and location coordinates of the pets from video frames received from the assigned pet management device and determine whether a detected pet in one frame is the same pet detected in a later frame ([0010] - - determine whether there is a target pet in the image), and
to identify the detected and tracked pets and transmit an identification signal confirming whether an identified pet is close to the assigned pet management device through the first wireless communications interface ([0010] - - classifies and counts the target pet and communicate to the remote terminal); and
at least one pet management device including:
a second wireless communications interface to wirelessly communicate with the edge computer control system to: receive instructions to capture videos at the pet management device; transmit the captured videos to the edge computer control system ([0027] - - communication module; [0017] - - user issue a control command to the feeding device; thus the feeding device receives the control command to acquire videos; [0014] - - transmit video to cloud);
and to receive identification signals from the edge computer control system indicating whether a pet assigned to the pet management device is close to the pet management device ([0010] - - determine whether there is a target pet in the image);
a proximity detector to detect whether a pet is within proximity to the pet management device ([0007] - - camera module is a proximity detector), and
a management processor to operate the pet management device to open when the identification confirmation signal received from the edge computer control system confirms that the assigned pet is close to the pet management device, and when the proximity detector detects that a pet is within proximity to the pet management device ([0020] - - open or close the grain storage mechanism; the camera catches a video of the target pet, this means the pet is within proximity to the device);
But Shi does not explicitly teach:
a schedule of management times for the pet
capture videos when a scheduled pet management time occurs
However, STEWART teaches:
a schedule of management times for the pet ([0071] - - set dispensing schedule);
capture videos when a scheduled pet management time occurs ([0071] - - set dispensing schedule; [0047] - - camera is used to take pictures of pet when feeding; feeding is per dispensing schedule);
Shi and STEWART are analogous art because they are from the same field of endeavor. They all relate to pet feeding and monitoring system.
Therefore before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify the above system, as taught by Shi, and incorporating a schedule of management times for the pet, as taught by STEWART.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to do this modification in order to improve management of pet diet, as suggested by STEWART (Abstract).
But the combination of Shi and STEWART does not explicitly teach:
tracking location coordinates of a pet;
However, Maddahi teaches:
track location coordinates of a pet ([0030] - - identifying a location of the animal relative to the cage in each image);
Shi, STEWART and Maddahi are analogous art because they are from the same field of endeavor. They all relate to pet feeding and monitoring system.
Therefore before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify the above system, as taught by the combination of Shi and STEWART, and incorporating tracking location coordinates of a pet, as taught by Maddahi.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to do this modification in order to fully control animal feeding scenarios, as suggested by Maddahi (Abstract).
Regarding claim 2, the combination of Shi, STEWART and Maddahi teaches all the limitations of the base claims as outlined above.
Shi further teaches: the GUI is accessible at personal mobile electronic devices via an App and the Internet ([0015] - - APP; [0016] - - smart phone).
Regarding claim 3, the combination of Shi, STEWART and Maddahi teaches all the limitations of the base claims as outlined above.
STEWART further teaches: the at least one pet management device includes a plurality of pet management devices, wherein each of the plurality of pet management devices is assigned to a specific pet profile ([0033] - - multiple pet feeders; assign a feeder to a specific pet).
Shi, STEWART and Maddahi are combinable for the same rationale as set forth.
Regarding claim 4, the combination of Shi, STEWART and Maddahi teaches all the limitations of the base claims as outlined above.
STEWART further teaches: the at least one database includes:
a pet information database to store input pet names and input videos of pets ([0032] - - log all activity including video and store logs in a database; [0042] - - Network Pet Database include identity of the pet); and
an application database to store input pet management schedules ([0071] - - the schedule is stored on the network pet database).
Shi, STEWART and Maddahi are combinable for the same rationale as set forth.
Regarding claim 5, the combination of Shi, STEWART and Maddahi teaches all the limitations of the base claims as outlined above.
Shi further teaches: a plurality of identification models each programable to identify a pet from the created pet profiles and to identify a pet from the detected and tracked pet ([0010] - - classification module classifies the category of pet, 1st category and 2nd category; [0023] - - dog and cat are two categories).
Regarding claim 6, the combination of Shi, STEWART and Maddahi teaches all the limitations of the base claims as outlined above.
Shi further teaches: an object detection model programmable to detect objects from video frames received from the at least one pet management device ([0010] - - the image detection model to determine whether there is a target pet in the image);
Maddahi further teaches:
an object tracking model programmable to track the detected objects and determine coordinates of the detected objects ([0030] - - identifying a location of the animal relative to the cage in each image; determining movements of the animal relative cage over time is tracking the object).
Shi, STEWART and Maddahi are combinable for the same rationale as set forth.
Regarding claim 7, the combination of Shi, STEWART and Maddahi teaches all the limitations of the base claims as outlined above.
Shi further teaches: the at least one pet management device is a pet feeder device (Abstract - - pet feeder device).
Regarding claim 8, Shi teaches: a pet management system (Fig. 2), comprising:
an edge computer control system ([0012] - - the combination of remote terminal and cloud is an edge computer control system) including:
an application graphic user interface (GUI) to receive videos of a pet, a name of the pet to create a pet profile ([0026] - - model is trained on cloud, training data is data set based on the images obtained by the camera module; therefore there is an interface to receive videos of a pet, the type of a pet is a name of the pet; );
at least one database to store the pet names, videos for each pet profile ([0015] - - data stored at cloud);
a first wireless communications interface to wirelessly communicate with at least one pet management device ([0012] - - the feeding device communicates with a remote terminal and a cloud; feeding device is a pet management device); and
at least one computer processor configured:
to identify pets using the videos and pet names received through the GUI ([0026] - - model is trained on cloud, training data is data set based on the images obtained by the camera module; [0066] - - classify the pet; the type of a pet is a name of the pet), to transmit instructions to one of a plurality of pet management devices to capture videos of pets within a surrounding environment ([0017] - - user issues a control command; control the camera module to acquire videos and transmit the video to the cloud);
to detect objects from video frames received from the one of a plurality of pet management devices and determine whether a detected object in one frame is the same object detected in a later frame ([0010] - - determine whether there is a target pet in the image), and
to identify a specific pet from the detected and tracked objects and transmit identification signals confirming whether the identified pet is close to the one of a plurality of pet management devices through the first wireless communications interface ([0010] - - determine whether there is a target pet in the image); and
at least one pet management device including:
a second wireless communications interface to wirelessly communicate with the edge computer control system to: receive instructions to capture videos; transmit the captured videos to the edge computer control system; and receive the transmitted identification signals from the edge computer control system ([0027] - - communication module; [0017] - - user issue a control command to the feeding device; thus the feeding device receives the control command to acquire videos; [0014] - - transmit video to cloud);
a proximity detector to detect whether an object is within proximity to the pet management device ([0007] - - camera module is a proximity detector), and
a management processor to operate the pet management device to open when: an identification signal received from the edge computer control system confirms that the pet is close to the pet management device; and when the proximity detector detects that an object is within proximity to the pet management device ([0020] - - open or close the grain storage mechanism; the camera catches a video of the target pet, this means the pet is within proximity to the device).
But Shi does not explicitly teach:
a schedule of management times for the pet;
capture videos when a scheduled pet management time occurs;
However, STEWART teaches:
a schedule of management times for the pet ([0071] - - set dispensing schedule);
capture videos when a scheduled pet management time occurs ([0071] - - set dispensing schedule; [0047] - - camera is used to take pictures of pet when feeding; feeding is per dispensing schedule);
Shi and STEWART are analogous art because they are from the same field of endeavor. They all relate to pet feeding and monitoring system.
Therefore before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify the above system, as taught by Shi, and incorporating a schedule of management times for the pet, as taught by STEWART.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to do this modification in order to improve management of pet diet, as suggested by STEWART (Abstract).
But the combination of Shi and STEWART does not explicitly teach:
tracking location coordinates of a pet;
However, Maddahi teaches:
track location coordinates of a pet ([0030] - - identifying a location of the animal relative to the cage in each image);
Shi, STEWART and Maddahi are analogous art because they are from the same field of endeavor. They all relate to pet feeding and monitoring system.
Therefore before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify the above system, as taught by the combination of Shi and STEWART, and incorporating tracking location coordinates of a pet, as taught by Maddahi.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to do this modification in order to fully control animal feeding scenarios, as suggested by Maddahi (Abstract).
Regarding claim 9, the combination of Shi, STEWART and Maddahi teaches all the limitations of the base claims as outlined above.
Shi further teaches: the at least one pet management device is a pet feeder device (Abstract - - pet feeder device).
Regarding claim 10, Shi teaches: a method of managing pets with a pet management control system, the method comprising:
generating a graphic user interface (GUI) accessible via an APP and the Internet ([0015] - - APP), the GUI enabled to receive a pet name and videos of a pet to create a pet profile ([0026] - - training data is data set based on the images obtained by the camera module; [0066] - - classify the pet; the type of a pet is a name of the pet),
training AI based identification models to identify a pet and associate a name with the identified pet from video frames of a pet and a pet name received through the GUI ([0026] - - model is trained on cloud, training data is data set based on the images obtained by the camera module;[0066] - - classify the pet; the type of a pet is a name of the pet);
wirelessly transmitting instructions to one of a plurality of pet management devices to capture videos ([0017] - - user issues a control command; control the camera module to acquire videos and transmit the video to the cloud);
receiving the captured videos from the pet management device in response to the instructions transmitted to capture videos ([0017] - - user issues a control command; control the camera module to acquire videos and transmit the video to the cloud);
detecting in the received video frames and determining whether the detected pet in one frame is the same pet detected in a later frame ([0010] - - determine whether there is a target pet in the image);
identifying the detected and tracked pet ([0010] - - determine whether there is a target pet in the image);
wirelessly transmitting identification indication signals to the pet management device which indicate whether the identified pet is within a predetermined distance from the pet management device ([0010] - - determine whether there is a target pet in the image; pet is in the image indicates pet is within a predetermined distance);
detecting a proximity of an object at the pet management device ([0010] - - determine whether there is a target pet in the image; pet is in the image indicates pet is within a predetermined distance); and
operating the pet management device to open when the identification indication signal indicates that the specific pet has been identified and when an object has been detected to be within proximity of the pet management device, otherwise keeping the pet management device closed ([0034] - - open the grain storage mechanism when the number of pets of a certain type reaches a preset value).
But Shi does not explicitly teach:
to receive a schedule of management times for the pet; storing the created pet profiles, the input pet names and scheduled pet management times in at least one database;
capture videos when a scheduled pet management time occurs
tracking location coordinates of a pet;
However, STEWART teaches:
to receive a schedule of management times for the pet; storing the created pet profiles, the input pet names and scheduled pet management times in at least one database ([0071] - - set dispensing schedule; the schedule is stored on the network pet database; [0092] - - set pet profile for each pet; [0093] - - pet profile is stored in database);
capture videos when a scheduled pet management time occurs ([0071] - - set dispensing schedule; [0047] - - camera is used to take pictures of pet when feeding);
Shi and STEWART are analogous art because they are from the same field of endeavor. They all relate to pet feeding and monitoring system.
Therefore before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify the above method, as taught by Shi, and incorporating a schedule of management times for the pet, as taught by STEWART.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to do this modification in order to improve management of pet diet, as suggested by STEWART (Abstract).
But the combination of Shi and STEWART does not explicitly teach:
tracking location coordinates of a pet;
However, Maddahi teaches:
tracking location coordinates of a pet ([0030] - - identifying a location of the animal relative to the cage in each image);
Shi, STEWART and Maddahi are analogous art because they are from the same field of endeavor. They all relate to pet feeding and monitoring system.
Therefore before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify the above method, as taught by the combination of Shi and STEWART, and incorporating tracking location coordinates of a pet, as taught by Maddahi.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to do this modification in order to fully control animal feeding scenarios, as suggested by Maddahi (Abstract).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to YUHUI R PAN whose telephone number is (571)272-9872. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8AM-5PM EST.
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, Kamini Shah can be reached at (571) 272-2279. 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.
/YUHUI R PAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2116