CTNF 18/392,332 CTNF 76912 DETAILED ACTION 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA. Claims 1-20 are presented for examination. Information Disclosure Statement The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 12/22/23 and 8/1/24 and 10/19/23 were considered by the examiner. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 07-06 AIA 15-10-15 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 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. 07-07-aia AIA 07-07 4. 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 – 07-08-aia AIA (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. 07-12-aia AIA (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. 07-15 AIA 5. Claim s 1-4, 7-14 and 17-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102( a)(1)/(a)(2 ) as being anticipated by Packer et al. (Packer), US patent no. 10019739 B1 1 . As per claim 1, Packer discloses a thermostat of a heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system [col. 3, lines 51-55, col. 7, lines 5-23], the thermostat comprising a controller operable to perform operations comprising: receiving an energy budget for a site [col. 5, lines 31-33], the energy budget comprising an allocated maximum total energy usage by energy loads of the site over a predetermined time duration [col. 4, lines 17-24]; generating an energy usage forecast for the energy loads over the predetermined time duration [col. 4, lines 17-35] ; and based at least in part on a determination that the energy usage forecast exceeds the energy budget [col. 5, lines 10-44, col. 8, lines 35-42], generating an energy usage reduction plan; wherein the energy usage reduction plan comprises instructions operable to control one or more of the energy loads such that an actual total energy usage by the energy loads over the predetermined time duration does not exceed the energy budget; and wherein the energy loads include the HVAC system [col. 8, lines 43-67, col. 9, lines 55-62]. Packer teaches: In some aspects, a computing device (e.g., an energy billing management system) can determine a target budget corresponding to a specified budget period. The target budget may relate to a desired energy usage amount for a corresponding utility customer . The computing device can obtain usage data relating to actual energy usage by one or more of a property associated with the corresponding utility customer or a component of the property. The computing device can determine a projected use relating to an estimated energy usage for a remaining amount of time in the specified budget period based at least in part on the usage data. The computing device can generate a message including an indication of a projected bill for the corresponding utility customer based at least in part on the usage data and the projected use. The computing device further can send the message to a climate control device associated with the corresponding utility customer based at least in part on a determination that the projected bill is greater than the target budget. [0028] The analyzer Y6 analyzes the inspection results collected in the inspection management apparatus Y5 from the inspection apparatuses Y1 to Y 4 (inspection results from each process) to predict defects, estimate the cause of defects, and may provide the analysis results as feedback to the production facilities X1 to X3 as appropriate (by, for example, changing the mounting program). The computing device may provide recommendations on how to modify usage so that actual usage can remain within the budgeted use for the specified budget period . The computing device may automatically adjust settings on the thermostat to modify usage so that actual usage can remain within the budgeted use for the specified budget period. The recommendation portion 312 may include recommendations on how to modify usage so that actual usage can remain within the budgeted use for the specified budget period . The recommendations may include set points or set point schedules that may be used on the climate control device, suggestion to turn off light sources and/or electronic devices, maintenance suggestions, and specific adjustments to the climate control device . As per claim 2, Packer discloses the operations further comprise monitoring the actual energy usage at the site during the predetermined time duration [col. 3, lines 21-24, col. 6, lines 32-34]. As per claim 3, Packer discloses the operations further comprise updating the energy usage forecast based at least in part on the actual energy usage at the site during the predetermined time duration [col. 8, lines 34-42, col. 13, lines 46-56]. As per claim 4, Packer discloses the instructions control the one or more of the energy loads to draw energy from a local energy source of the site [col. 8, lines 34-67, col. 9, lines 55-62]. As per claim 7, Packer discloses the energy usage reduction plan is based at least in part on local site information selected from the group consisting of: a size of the site; a forecasted weather condition at the site [col. 6, lines 59-67, col. 7, lines 14-33]; a capacity of at least one of the energy loads [col. 8, lines 43-67]; a usage schedule of the at least one of the energy loads; a temperature set point of the thermostat operable to control the at least one of the energy loads; and one or more user constraints [col. 9, lines 55-62]. As per claim 8, Packer discloses the controller is operable to utilize a machine learning algorithm that includes a machine learning model of the site and the energy loads [col. 6, lines 26-32, col. 7, lines 14-49, col. 8, lines 29-33]. As per claim 9, Packer discloses the machine learning algorithm is operable to generate the energy usage forecast and the energy usage reduction plan [col. 7, lines 14-49, col. 8, lines 29-67, col. 9, lines 55-62]. As per claim 10, Packer discloses the controller is a member of a federated learning system [predictive model]; and the machine learning model is trained using the federated learning system [col. 6, lines 26-32, col. 7, lines 14-49, col. 8, lines 29-33] . Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 07-06 AIA 15-10-15 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 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. 07-20-aia AIA 6. 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. 07-21-aia AIA 7. Claim s 5, 6, 15 and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Packer et al. (Packer), US patent no. 10019739 B1 in view of Reeder et al. (Reeder), US publication no. 2022/0253078 A1 2 . As per claim 5, Packer fails to disclose the energy usage reduction plan is based at least in part on an occupancy of the site. Reeder discloses the energy usage reduction plan is based at least in part on an occupancy of the site [para 49, 65]. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at time the invention to combine the teachings of Packer and Reeder because they both disclose a smart thermal control system, the specify teachings of Reeder stated above would have further enhanced the performance and functionality of Packer system to obtain predictable results to determine an occupancy of the site. As per claim 6, Reeder discloses the energy usage reduction plan is based at least in part on an assessment of a comfort level of occupants of the site [para 49, 63, 86]. As to claims 11-20, claims 1-10 basically are the corresponding elements that are carried out the method of operating step in claims 11-20. Accordingly, claims 11-20 are rejected for the same reason as set forth in claims 1-10. 8. Examiner's note : Examiner has cited particular paragraphs and columns and line numbers in the references as applied to the claims above for the convenience of the applicant. Although the specified citations are representative of the teachings of the art and are applied to the specific limitations within the individual claim, other passages and figures may apply as well. It is respectfully requested from the applicant in preparing responses, to fully consider the references in entirety as potentially teaching all or part of the claimed invention, as well as the context of the passage as taught by the prior art or disclosed by the examiner. MPEP 2141.02 VI: “PRIOR ART MUST BE CONSIDERED IN ITS ENTIRETY, INCLUDING DISCLOSURES THAT TEACH AWAY FROM THE CLAIMS." 07-96 AIA 9. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant’s disclosure. Trundle et al,, US publication no. 2010/0289643, teaches a method for performing an operation related to controlling one or more energy consuming devices; monitors energy usage levels of energy consuming devices within a site throughout a predetermined time and tailors energy conservation efforts in an attempt to meet a target energy budget . Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHUN CAO whose telephone number is (571)272-3664. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F 7:30 am-4:00 pm. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Kamini Shah can be reached on 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 an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). /CHUN CAO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2115 Application/Control Number: 18/392,332 Page 2 Art Unit: 2115 Application/Control Number: 18/392,332 Page 3 Art Unit: 2115 Application/Control Number: 18/392,332 Page 4 Art Unit: 2115 Application/Control Number: 18/392,332 Page 5 Art Unit: 2115 Application/Control Number: 18/392,332 Page 6 Art Unit: 2115 Application/Control Number: 18/392,332 Page 7 Art Unit: 2115 Application/Control Number: 18/392,332 Page 8 Art Unit: 2115 1 Packer is cited by applicant. 2 Reeder is cited by applicant.