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 .
Response to Amendment
This office action is in response to amendment/reconsideration filed on 05/04/2026, the amendment/reconsideration has been considered. Claims 1, and 11 have been amended. Claims 1-20 are pending for examination as cited below.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed on 05/04/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. In remarks applicant argues:
(a) In remarks applicant argues, one of ordinary skilled in the art would not have been motivated to modify Wu to include GUI features allegedly taught by Ko, and further contends that Wu “delineates small format GUIs in favor of gesture controls.”
Examiner respectfully disagree because, Wu expressly teaches multiple forms of user interaction, including gesture based control and GUI based control. While Wu emphasizes gesture control as an advantageous modality, Wu nonetheless discloses that GUI elements may be used in conjunction with or as alternative to gesture based interaction. See Wu paragraph 56, 60-62. The fact that Wu highlights gesture control does not teach away from GUI usage; rather, Wu provides a flexible interaction framework. A reference does not teach away merely because it describes a preferred embodiment. (MPEP2145)
Ham teaches a system for controlling home appliances based on device orientation and proximity. Wu teaches localized communication and user interaction modalities. Ko teaches location measurement, device identification and server based registration of device location information. The combination of Ham and Wu provides the core interaction and orientation based control, while Lo supplies the missing location measurement and device selection logic. The references are from analogues arts and address complementary aspects of appliance control systems. The motivation to combine arises from the predicable benefits of integrating known GUI elements (Ko) into an appliance control interface (Ham, Wu) to improve user interaction and device selection. See KSR v. Teleflex, 550 U.S. 398 (2007).
Applicant’s argument that the Examiner has not articulated a reason to combine is not persuasive. The office action identifies that Han and Wu lack explicit disclosure of GUI based device selection using location measurement values, and Ko provides interface modality (Ko’s GUI) into another known control system (Ham, Wu) to achieve predictable results.
(b) Applicant argues that Ko does not teach, “location measurement values of the plurality of home appliances registered in a server or location measurement value of the UE directly measured by the first home appliance.”
Examiner respectfully disagree because Ko teaches multiple mechanisms for determining device location, including GPS, Wi-Fi, triangulation using reference device, and server stored mapping. See Ko, paragraph [151-160]. Ko further teaches that device 50 may determine locality information and communicate such information to other system components, including servers and mobile terminals. Ko’s disclosure of device to server and device to terminal communication of location information reasonably encompasses the claimed “location measurement values.” The claims do not require specific measurement technique, nor do they exclude triangulation or server stored mapping. Applicant’s narrow interpretation is not commensurate with the broadest reasonable interpretation (BRI).
Applicant further contends that Ko does not teach location measurement “directly measured by the first home appliance.” Ko teaches that device 50 may determine its own locality information (Ko, 151-152) and may participate in triangulation or mapping process (Ko, 156-160). Whether the measurement is performed by device 50 itself or by reference devices is immaterial; Ko teaches that device 50 obtains and communicates location information sufficient to meet the claim under the BRI interpretation.
Applicant further argues that Ko does not teach selecting a second home appliance based on comparison of location measurement value. Ko teaches identifying devices based on locality measurement values. Ko teaches identifying device based on locality information, determining proximity, and selecting devices accordingly. See Ko paragraph 152, 273. The claimed comparison step is an obvious design choice in view of Ko’s teachings of device identification and proximity based selection.
(C ) Applicant argues that Ko does not display an interface for a measured device.
Examiner respectfully disagree because, Ko teaches displaying device lists, control options, and device specific information on a mobile terminal. See Ko, 273. The fact that Ko displays a list rather than a specific GUI for a measured device does not distinguish the claim. The claim recites “displaying a control GUI for controlling a second home appliance,” which is met by Ko’s disclosure of presenting device specific control options once a device is identified . Ko’s interface is GUI under the broadest reasonable interpretation.
(d) Applicant argues that Ko paragraph 273 does not teach changing an icon from UWB mode to fixed mode.
Examiner respectfully disagree because Ko paragraph 273 teaches presenting multiple device control options and dynamically updating the interface based on device identification and mode selection. Changing an icon to reflect a mode change is a predictable GUI design choice well within ordinary skilled in the art. The Claim recites a generic icon change based on user input, which is an obvious implementation of Ko’s dynamic interface teachings.
Double Patenting
Applicant argues that the double patenting rejection is obviated by amended claims and that the “340” patent relates to server-side processes rather than UE-side processes.
The double patenting rejection is based on the claims of the “340” patent, not its specification. The claims of the “340” patent recite device-registration and device identification processes that overlap with the presently claimed subject matter. The amended claims do not overcome the overlapping subject matter because they still recite device selection, location measurement, and GUI based control processes that are not patentably distinct from the “340” patent claims. The rejection is therefore maintained.
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 non-obviousness.
Claim(s) 1-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hammerschmidt et al. (Pub. No.: US 2022/0137177 A1), hereinafter “Ham” in view of Wu et al. (Pub. No.: US 2023/0024254 A1), hereinafter “Wu” and further in view of Ko et al. (Pub. No.: US 2015/0326704 A1), hereinafter “Ko”.
As to claim 1. Ham discloses a method of controlling a user equipment (UE) (Ham, Abstract, fig.1) the method comprising:
receiving a user input for a control graphical user interface (GUI) request through a device registration GUI displayed on the UE (Ham, fig.1, [0077], a handheld device 110 communicates with other handheld, stationary, or Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices to measure distances or other positioning metrics such as directions of appearance of devices with respect to each other.);
transmitting, to a first home appliance having an ultra-wideband (UWB) antenna embedded therein, a location identification request signal (Ham, fig.3, [0079], to enable a determination of a mutual range or position of devices, a technique used by wireless systems such as UWB is to compute a Channel Impulse Response (CIR) 306. A CIR 306 may represent a profile of direct and indirect (reflected) wireless propagation paths between two devices such as station A 302 and station B 304,).
Ham however is silent to disclose explicitly, based on user input locating a home appliance using UWB signal; displaying a control GUI for controlling a second home appliance toward which the UE is oriented, the second home appliance being selected among a plurality of home appliances, wherein the location measurement values of the plurality of home appliances registered in a server are values measured with respect to the first home appliance and, the second home appliance is selected by comparing location measurement values of the plurality of home appliances a location measurement value of the UE measured by the first home appliance based on the location identification request signal transmitted by the UE directly to the first home appliance, and the selected second home appliance has location measurement value corresponding to the location measurement value of the UE among the plurality of home appliances.
Wu discloses a similar concept in the same field of endeavor e.g. based on user input locating a home appliance using UWB signal (Wu, fig.5, [0047], The user 550 may be wearing one or more wearable electronic devices, such as a smartwatch, smartglasses, earbuds, pendant, ring, smart cloth clothing, etc. UWB sensors in the first and second smart home devices 560, 565 may detect a relative proximity of the user 550 to each device.).
Therefore, before the effective filing date of the instant application it would have been obvious to one of the skilled in the art to incorporate the teachings of Wu into those of Ham to provide a device localization using ultrawide band (UWB) detection and gesture detection using inertial measurement units (IMUs) on one or more wearable devices to control smart devices, such as home assistants, smart lights, smart locks, etc.
Ham and Wu however are silent to disclose explicitly, displaying a control GUI for controlling a second home appliance toward which the UE is oriented the second home appliance being selected among a plurality of home appliances, wherein the location measurement values of the plurality of home appliances registered in a server are values measured with respect to the first home appliance and, the second home appliance is selected by comparing location measurement values of the plurality of home appliances a location measurement value of the UE measured by the first home appliance based on the location identification request signal transmitted by the UE direclty to the first home appliance, and the selected second home appliance has location measurement value corresponding to the location measurement value of the UE among the plurality of home appliances.
Ko discloses a similar concept in the same field of endeavor including, displaying a control GUI for controlling a second home appliance toward which the UE is oriented, wherein the location measurement values of the plurality of home appliances registered in a server are values measured with respect to the first home appliance and, the second home appliance is determined by comparing location measurement values of home appliances a location measurement value of the UE directly measured by the first home appliance based on the location identification request signal (Ko, [0152], The controller 58 may compare location information about the electronic device 50 received from the mobile terminal 10 or the server 70 with a location of the electronic device 50 measured by the electronic device 50 and respond to the mobile terminal 10 or the server 70 according to a comparison result and fig.10, [0160], if the user directs the mobile terminal 10 toward an intended electronic device 50 or applies a touch input (dragging or flicking) to the display unit 15, the controller 18 determines whether the direction of the mobile terminal 10 or the direction of the touch input matches the location of the electronic device 50 registered on a map. For further clarification please see the response to argument section above.),
transmitted by the UE to the first home appliance, and the selected second home appliance has location measurement value corresponding to the location measurement value of the UE among the plurality of home appliances (Ko, fig.8, [0155], When the mobile terminal 10 approaches the electronic device 50, the controller 18 can display a list of pre-registered electronic devices and other communicable/controllable electronic devices on the display unit 15. Herein, the mobile terminal 10 may list the electronic devices by identifying them by their Personal Identification Numbers (PINs) or Quick Response (QR) codes, by NFC, or by their received signal indication proximity.
Therefore, before the effective filing date of the instant application it would have been obvious to one of the skilled in the art to incorporate the teachings of Ko into those of Ham and Wu to provide a method for controlling a mobile terminal, and which includes establishing communication connections, via a communication unit of the mobile terminal, with a plurality of reference devices, for a location-based service to calculate a current location of the mobile terminal; displaying a list of controllable devices on a display unit of the mobile terminal based on the calculated current location of the mobile terminal; receiving, via a controller of the mobile terminal, a selection of a specific device from displayed list of controllable devices.
As to claim 2. The combined system of Ham, Wu and Ko discloses the invention as in parent claim above including, wherein the control GUI for controlling the second home appliance includes information related to other peripheral devices of the UE (Ko, fig.13, [0164], the controller 18 can provide a UI for setting the length of the virtual straight line. If one or more registered electronic devices 50 are located on the virtual straight line, the controller 18 displays a list of the electronic devices 50 on the display unit 15, as illustrated in FIG. 13. The list may include identification information about the electronic devices 50. The controller 18 can arrange the identification information about the electronic devices 50 in order of the distances between the mobile terminal 10 and the electronic devices 50.).
As to claim 3. The combined system of Ham, Wu and Ko discloses the invention as in parent claim above including, wherein the information related to other peripheral devices of the UE includes at least one of a test or an image indicating a device name or a device type (Ko, fig.13, [0164], the controller 18 can provide a UI for setting the length of the virtual straight line. If one or more registered electronic devices 50 are located on the virtual straight line, the controller 18 displays a list of the electronic devices 50 on the display unit 15, as illustrated in FIG. 13. The list may include identification information about the electronic devices 50. The controller 18 can arrange the identification information about the electronic devices 50 in order of the distances between the mobile terminal 10 and the electronic devices 50.).
As to claim 4. The combined system of Ham, Wu and Ko discloses the invention as in parent claim above including, wherein the information related to other peripheral devices of the UE is determined based on location measurement values of the other peripheral devices measured with respect to the first home appliance (Ko, fig.13, [0164]).
As to claim 5. The combined system of Ham, Wu and Ko discloses the invention as in parent claim above including, wherein the control GUI for controlling the second home appliance includes an icon for a UWB mode or an icon for a fixed mode (Ko, fig.48, [0263)].
As to claim 6. The combined system of Ham, Wu and Ko discloses the invention as in parent claim above including, wherein in case that the control GUI includes the icon for the UWB mode, a to-be-controlled home appliance of the control GUI changes based on a direction in which the UE is oriented (Ko, fig.15-17, [0167]).
As to claim 7. The combined system of Ham, Wu and Ko discloses the invention as in parent claim above including, wherein in case that the control GUI includes the icon for the UWB mode, the icon for the UWB mode is changed to the icon for the fixed mode upon receiving at least one of a gesture, a voice command, and a user input to touch the icon for the UWB mode (Ko, fig.54, [0273]).
As to claim 8. The combined system of Ham, Wu and Ko discloses the invention as in parent claim above including, wherein in case that the control GUI includes the icon for the fixed mode and a direction in which the UE is oriented is changed, a list of home appliances included in information related to other peripheral devices of UE displayed on the control GUI is changed (Ko, fig.54, [0273]).
As to claim 9. The combined system of Ham, Wu and Ko discloses the invention as in parent claim above including, wherein the displaying of the control GUI for controlling the second home appliance comprises: displaying the control GUI for controlling the second home appliance and a control GUI for controlling a third home appliance toward which the UE is oriented (Ko, fig.53, [0272]).
As to claim 10. The combined system of Ham, Wu and Ko discloses the invention as in parent claim above including, wherein the displaying of the control GUI for controlling the second home appliance comprises: in case that the UE receives a user input of dragging an icon associated with a third home appliance from the information related to other peripheral devices of the UE, displaying the control GUI for controlling the second home appliance and a control GUI for controlling the third home appliance (Ko, fig.19,20 [0172]. Furthermore, the various function as recited in the claims are merely an intended use, obvious variations and design choices which can be tailored according the situation or the liking).
Claims 11-20 are rejected for same rationale as discussed above in reference to claims 1-10.
Double Patenting
The non-statutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A non-statutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on non-statutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP § 2146 et seq. for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
The filing of a terminal disclaimer by itself is not a complete reply to a non-statutory double patenting (NSDP) rejection. A complete reply requires that the terminal disclaimer be accompanied by a reply requesting reconsideration of the prior Office action. Even where the NSDP rejection is provisional the reply must be complete. See MPEP § 804, subsection I.B.1. For a reply to a non-final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.111(a). For a reply to final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.113(c). A request for reconsideration while not provided for in 37 CFR 1.113(c) may be filed after final for consideration. See MPEP §§ 706.07(e) and 714.13.
The USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The actual filing date of the application in which the form is filed determines what form (e.g., PTO/SB/25, PTO/SB/26, PTO/AIA /25, or PTO/AIA /26) should be used. A web-based eTerminal Disclaimer may be filled out completely online using web-screens. An eTerminal Disclaimer that meets all requirements is auto-processed and approved immediately upon submission. For more information about eTerminal Disclaimers, refer to www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/applying-online/eterminal-disclaimer.
Claims 1 and 11 are rejected on the ground of non-statutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1, and 10 of U.S. Patent No. 11,863,340. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because see the table below:
Instant Application: 18/398,282 U.S. Patent No.: 11,863,340
1. (currently amended): A method of controlling a user equipment (UE), the method comprising:
receiving a user input for a control graphical user interface (GUI) request through a device registration GUI displayed on the UE;
based on the user input, transmitting, to a first home appliance having an ultra-wideband (UWB) antenna embedded therein, a location identification request signal; and
displaying a control GUI for controlling a second home appliance toward which the UE is oriented, the second home appliance being selected among a plurality of home appliances, wherein the location measurement values of the plurality of home appliances registered in a server are values measured with respect to the first home appliance and, the second home appliance is selected by comparing location measurement values of the plurality of home appliances a location measurement value of the UE directly measured by the first home appliance based on the location identification request signal transmitted by the UE to the first home appliance, and
the selected second home appliance has location measurement value corresponding to the location measurement value of the UE among the plurality of home appliances.
1. A method, performed by a server device, of controlling a home appliance, the method comprising:
receiving a distance measurement request signal from a user equipment; transmitting,
based on the received distance measurement request signal, an ultra-wideband (UWB) communication module activation signal to the user equipment and a second home appliance that includes a UWB antenna; receiving, from the second home appliance, a location measurement value of the user equipment measured with respect to the second home appliance, the location measurement value being based on a UWB signal between the user equipment and the second home appliance; determining location information about the user equipment, based on the location measurement value of the user equipment;
receiving, from a first home appliance that does not include a UWB antenna, information about the first home appliance; and
registering the first home appliance in the server device, based on the received information about the first home appliance and the location information about the user equipment.
9. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving a control graphical user interface (GUI) request signal from the user equipment; based on the received control GUI request signal, transmitting the UWB communication module activation signal to the user equipment and the second home appliance; receiving, from the second home appliance, the location measurement value of the user equipment measured in response to the location identification request signal transmitted from the user equipment; determining a third home appliance toward which the user equipment is oriented, based on the location measurement value of the user equipment; and providing a GUI for controlling the determined third home appliance to the user equipment.
11. (currently amended): A user equipment (UE) comprising: a communication module configured to communicate with a server device and at least one home appliance; an ultra-wideband (UWB) communication module configured to perform short-range wireless communication with the at least one home appliance; a memory storing one or more instructions; and at least one processor connected to the memory, wherein the at least one processor is configured to, by executing the one or more instructions: receive a user input for a control graphical user interface (GUI) request through a device registration GUI displayed on the UE; based on the user input, transmit, to a first home appliance having an ultra-wideband (UWB) antenna embedded therein, a location identification request signal; and display a control GUI for controlling a second home appliance toward which the UE is oriented, the second home appliance being selected among a plurality of home appliances, wherein the second home appliance is selected by comparing location measurement values of the plurality of home appliances registered in a server with a location measurement value of the UE measured by the first home appliance based on the location identification request signal transmitted by the UE to the first home appliance, and the selected second home appliance has location measurement value corresponding to the location measurement value of the UE among the plurality of home appliances.
10. A server device comprising: a communication interface configured to communicate with a user equipment and at least one home appliance; a memory storing one or more instructions; and at least one processor configured to execute the one or more instructions to: receive, via the communication interface, a distance measurement request signal from a user equipment; control the communication interface to transmit, based on the received distance measurement request signal, an ultra-wideband (UWB) communication module activation signal to the user equipment and a second home appliance that includes a UWB antenna; receive, from the second home appliance via the communication interface, a location measurement value of the user equipment measured with respect to the second home appliance, the location measurement value being based on a UWB signal between the user equipment and the second home appliance; determine location information about the user equipment, based on the location measurement value of the user equipment; receive, from a first home appliance that does not include a UWB antenna, information about the first home appliance; and register the first home appliance in the server device, based on the received information about the first home appliance and the location information about the user equipment.
18. The server device of claim 10, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the one or more instructions to: receive, via the communication interface, a control graphical user interface (GUI) request signal from the user equipment; control the communication interface to transmit the UWB communication module activation signal to the user equipment and the second home appliance, based on the received control GUI request signal; receive, from the second home appliance via the communication interface, the location measurement value of the user equipment measured in response to a location identification request signal transmitted from the user equipment; determine a third home appliance toward which the user equipment is oriented, based on the location measurement value of the user equipment; and control the communication interface to provide a graphical user interface (GUI) for controlling the determined third home appliance to the user equipment.
From the above table it can be seen, although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because both set of claim compliment and encompasses the invention as a whole and intended to solve the same issue/problem.
Both the inventions describes a server device, a control method of the server device, and a control method of a user equipment to address a difficulty caused by failing to accurately measure a location of a home appliance that does not include a ultra-wideband (UWB) communication module, and to solve a problem in terms of user convenience in a process of connecting a home appliance in a state of a new product before network connection to a network and registering the home appliance in a server.
The dependent claims 2-10 and 12-19 carry the deficiencies from the base claims.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Please see the attached PTO-892.
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 TAUQIR HUSSAIN whose telephone number is (571)270-1247. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7:00 - 8:00 with IFP.
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/Tauqir Hussain/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2446
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