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 .
DETAILED ACTION
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 5/19/2026 has been entered.
Response to Amendment
Applicant's amendment filed on 5/19/2026 have been entered and fully considered. Claims 1, 3, 4, 8 15-20 are amended, claim 2 is canceled, and claims 1 and 3-20 are currently pending.
Applicant’s amendment to specification has been entered and fully considered, therefore specification objection has been withdrawn.
Claim objection with respect to claim 16 has been withdrawn based on amendment.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments with respect to claims 1 and 3-20 have been fully considered but are moot based upon the new grounds of rejection necessitated by applicant's amendment.
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 of this title, 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 set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied 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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim 1 and 3-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Keller, Jr, et al. (US 20090231093 A1), in view of Wright et al. (US 20210043064 A1 and Wright hereinafter).
Regarding claim 1, Keller teaches a method for locating a self-storage unit within a self-storage facility (Paragraphs 0118 and 0119; automatically identifying a particular one of the self-storage units to provide a particular path to direct end user to the identified self-storage unit in a self-storage facility) comprising:
receiving a request generated by the mobile device, by a gateway device (Figure 10 and Paragraph 0067; controller 409 [interpreted as a gateway device] that places the control of some or all of the facility components), to locate one or more specified self-storage units of the plurality of units within the self-storage facility (Figure 18 and Paragraphs 0116 and 0117; detecting the presence of a particular end user of the self-storage facility, this can comprise receiving at least one credential as corresponds to this particular end user. Examiner asserts that entering credential may be interpreted a request to locate the user’s storage unit. Figure 20 and Paragraph 0123; an end user has presented themselves at the self-storage facility point-of-entry movable barrier 104 and has presented their identifying credentials at an access-control user interface 105. In this illustrative example, the controller determines that this end user corresponds to self-storage unit number 10), wherein each of the plurality of units is co-located with a unit device (Figure 13 and Paragraph 0051; a self-storage facility that includes at least some facility components that are selected from the categories of area lighting 401. Paragraph 0124 and 0126; light that denotes a path to user’s storage unit, and the light corresponding to the end user’s unit 2001);
generating, based on the request, a control signal to activate notification in each unit device associated with the specified self-storage units (Figure 20 and Paragraph 0124; to uniquely denote this particular path 2002 [to the user’s storage unit], the controller causes the three lights denoted by reference numeral 2003 to begin blinking intermittently in a sequential pattern that “points” or leads to the left. Paragraph 0126; as the end user follows this particular path 2005 and reaches the corridor 2008 that includes self-storage unit 10, sequentially blinking lights 2009 are again employed to lead the end user into and down this corridor 2008. In addition, in this illustrative example, the particular light 2010 that corresponds to the end user's unit 2001 is blinking at a different rate than the other blinking lights), by the gateway device (Figure 20 and Paragraph 0124; to uniquely denote this particular path 2002, the controller causes the three lights denoted by reference numeral 2003 to begin blinking intermittently in a sequential pattern that “points” or leads to the left); and
transmitting the control signal to each unit device associated with the specified self-storage unit, by the gateway device, to cause each unit device to emit an audio and/or visual indication of a physical location of the one or more specified self-storage units (Figure 20 and Paragraphs 0124 and 0126; to uniquely denote this particular path 2002 [to the user’s storage unit], the controller causes the three lights denoted by reference numeral 2003 to begin blinking intermittently in a sequential pattern that “points” or leads to the left. As the end user follows this particular path 2005 and reaches the corridor 2008 that includes self-storage unit 10, sequentially blinking lights 2009 are again employed to lead the end user into and down this corridor 2008. In addition, in this illustrative example, the particular light 2010 that corresponds to the end user's unit 2001 is blinking at a different rate than the other blinking lights. Examiner asserts the particular light 2010 that correspond to end user’s unit 2001 is interpreted as the gateway control the unit device [light 2010 for unit 2001] to blink to indicate the physical location).
Keller does not explicitly teach presenting, via a user interface of a mobile device, a plurality of self-storage units within the self-storage facility for user selection; and generating a control signal to active notification in each unit device, by the gateway device, based on the user selection. In an analogous art, Wright teaches presenting, via a user interface of a mobile device (Figure 3B and Paragraph 0219; the HIS 400 must be accessed through a given computing-device 373 (such as 303, 305, 309, 311). As evidenced in Figure 1, these devices may be mobile phone), a plurality of self-storage units within the self-storage facility for user selection (Paragraphs 0226 and 0227; two-way NINCE 367 communications content may include [from monitoring device 100] reports, alerts, in text, video, links to web or mobile app pages, etc.. Paragraph 0240; the NINCE may transmit information received from the at least one monitoring device 100 to at least computing device 373, and in turn receive commands from at least one computing device 373 and transmit the received commands from computing device 373 to at least one monitoring device 100. Paragraph 0346; monitoring a given storage space utilizing one or more monitoring devices 100, the HIS 400 may allow display via user device 303, 305, 309 and/or 311 the deployed monitoring devices 100 in a representative 2D and/or 3D map of a given storage facility 345); and generating a control signal to active notification in each unit device, by the gateway device (Figure 3C and Paragraph 0208; the given monitoring-device 100 may be in wireless communication with at least one gateway 361 (via radio(s) and/or antenna(s) of the given monitoring-device 100). In some embodiments, gateway 361 may provide a bridge to connection 363), based on the user selection (Paragraph 0226; the commands/instructions that a given authorized stakeholder are, via the HIS [Human Interface System] 400, directly or indirectly transmitting to NINCE 367 [Figure 3C and Paragraph 0207; NINCE 367 may be software running on servers 309] may include one or more of the following: for the given monitoring-device 100 to activate a given sensor 505 type; for the given monitoring-device 100 to initiate an audible and/or visual output (e.g., at UX output 205) locally at the given monitoring-device 100. Figure 3B and Paragraph 0203; a given storage facility 345 may comprise one or more audible indicators 343 that may be in communication with the one or more monitoring-devices 100 of that given storage facility 345, via one or more hubs 341, activating and/or engaging the one or more local audible indicators 343 such that the one or more local audible indicators 343 may be producing a visual (via lights) and/or auditory (via speakers) alarm). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before ethe effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Keller and Wright because there is a need for electronic device with monitoring sensors that may be readily, easily and quickly installed to offer on-demand monitoring service by the facility owner/operator for use by the controlled space tent to monitor a given controlled unit’s interior spaces and/or assets (Wright, Paragraph 0010).
Regarding claim 16, claim 16 recites similar features as claim 1, therefore is rejected for at least the same reason discussed above regarding claim 1.
Regarding claims 3 and 17, the combination of Keller and Wright teaches all of the limitations of claims 1 and 16, as described above. Further, Keller teaches wherein the gateway device transmits the control signal to each unit device associated with the specified self-storage unit via a Bluetooth communication protocol (Paragraph 0071; communications interfaces 1001 can connect to the controller 409 via Bluetooth).
In addition, Wright teaches wherein the gateway device transmits the control signal to each unit device associated with the specified self-storage unit (Figure 3C and Paragraph 0208; the given monitoring-device 100 may be in wireless communication with at least one gateway 361 (via radio(s) and/or antenna(s) of the given monitoring-device 100). In some embodiments, gateway 361 may provide a bridge to connection 363), based on the user selection (Paragraph 0226; the commands/instructions that a given authorized stakeholder are, via the HIS [Human Interface System] 400, directly or indirectly transmitting to NINCE 367 may include one or more of the following: ffor the given monitoring-device 100 to initiate an audible and/or visual output (e.g., at UX output 205) locally at the given monitoring-device 100) via a low power wireless communication protocol (Figure 8A and Paragraph 0049; short-range low power wireless communications between a given monitoring-device and a gateway). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before ethe effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Keller and Wright because there is a need for electronic device with monitoring sensors that may be readily, easily and quickly installed to offer on-demand monitoring service by the facility owner/operator for use by the controlled space tent to monitor a given controlled unit’s interior spaces and/or assets (Wright, Paragraph 0010).
Regarding claims 4 and 18, the combination of Keller and Wright teaches all of the limitations of claims 1 and 16, as described above. Further, Keller teaches wherein transmitting the control signal includes transmitting an indication of a device ID representative of each unit device associated with the one or more specified self-storage units to units devices located within a network proximity (Paragraph 0074; communicating operational data 1002 between the controller 409 and individual ones of the facility components. This can comprise individually-directed communications (using, for example, a unique address identifier for each of the individual facility components), group-directed communications (where, for example, a category or group identifier is used to permit all lights to be activated with a single broadcast command), or general broadcasts that are directed to all of the facility components).
Regarding claims 5 and 19, the combination of Keller and Wright teaches all of the limitations of claims 4 and 18, as described above. Further, Keller teaches further comprising determining whether the indication of the device ID is representative of a specific unit device which received the control signal (Paragraph 0074; communicating operational data 1002 between the controller 409 and individual ones of the facility components. This can comprise individually-directed communications (using, for example, a unique address identifier for each of the individual facility components), group-directed communications (where, for example, a category or group identifier is used to permit all lights to be activated with a single broadcast command), or general broadcasts that are directed to all of the facility components).
Regarding claim 6, the combination of Keller and Wright teaches all of the limitations of claim 5, as described above. Further, Keller teaches wherein transmitting includes activating emission of the audio and/or visual indication from the specific unit device responsive to determination that the indication of device ID is representative of the specific unit device (Paragraph 0074; communicating operational data 1002 between the controller 409 and individual ones of the facility components. This can comprise individually-directed communications (using, for example, a unique address identifier for each of the individual facility components), group-directed communications (where, for example, a category or group identifier is used to permit all lights to be activated with a single broadcast command), or general broadcasts that are directed to all of the facility components. Figure 20 and Paragraph 0124; to uniquely denote this particular path 2002 [to the user’s storage unit], the controller causes the three lights denoted by reference numeral 2003 to begin blinking intermittently in a sequential pattern that “points” or leads to the left. Paragraph 0126; as the end user follows this particular path 2005 and reaches the corridor 2008 that includes self-storage unit 10, sequentially blinking lights 2009 are again employed to lead the end user into and down this corridor 2008. In addition, in this illustrative example, the particular light 2010 that corresponds to the end user's unit 2001 is blinking at a different rate than the other blinking lights).
Regarding claim 7, the combination of Keller and Wright teaches all of the limitations of claim 5, as described above. Further, Keller teaches wherein determining is performed at least partially by the specific unit device (Paragraph 0074; communicating operational data 1002 between the controller 409 and individual ones of the facility components. This can comprise individually-directed communications (using, for example, a unique address identifier for each of the individual facility components), group-directed communications (where, for example, a category or group identifier is used to permit all lights to be activated with a single broadcast command), or general broadcasts that are directed to all of the facility components. Paragraphs 0116-0117, 0124 and 0126; a facility controller 409 that operably couples to the lighting fixtures 1901, 1902 via, for example, a lighting control interface 1903. By one approach, this lighting control interface 1903 can be realized via the communication interfaces described earlier. So configured, the controller 409 is able to control the illumination state of these lighting fixtures 1901, 1902 in support of these teachings).
Regarding claims 8 and 20, the combination of Keller and Wright teaches all of the limitations of claims 5 and 19, as described above. Further, Keller teaches wherein transmitting includes further transmitting an indication of each device ID representative of the unit device associated with the one or more specified self-storage unit to other units devices located within another network proximity (Paragraph 0074; communicating operational data 1002 between the controller 409 and individual ones of the facility components. This can comprise individually-directed communications (using, for example, a unique address identifier for each of the individual facility components), group-directed communications (where, for example, a category or group identifier is used to permit all lights to be activated with a single broadcast command), or general broadcasts that are directed to all of the facility components. Paragraph 0075; in some cases these communications interfaces 1001 may comprise short-range platforms. It is therefore possible that such an interface 1001 may be positioned within a facility 100 at a location that is too far from the controller 409 to ensure reliable reception. In such a case, the data communications path elements 406 for a given self-storage facility 100 can also comprise one or more wireless repeaters. By one approach, this capability can be built into the communications interfaces 1001 themselves. So configured, such an interface 1001 can serve to transmit both the messages that are sourced by their corresponding facility component as well as messages that are received from other communications interfaces 1001 for other facility components).
Regarding claim 9, the combination of Keller and Wright teaches all of the limitations of claim 8, as described above. Further, Keller teaches wherein the further transmitting is conducted in response to determination that the indication of device ID is not representative of a specific unit device (Paragraph 0075; in some cases these communications interfaces 1001 may comprise short-range platforms. It is therefore possible that such an interface 1001 may be positioned within a facility 100 at a location that is too far from the controller 409 to ensure reliable reception. In such a case, the data communications path elements 406 for a given self-storage facility 100 can also comprise one or more wireless repeaters. By one approach, this capability can be built into the communications interfaces 1001 themselves. So configured, such an interface 1001 can serve to transmit both the messages that are sourced by their corresponding facility component as well as messages that are received from other communications interfaces 1001 for other facility components).
Regarding claim 10, the combination of Keller and Wright teaches all of the limitations of claim 9, as described above. Further, Keller teaches wherein the further transmitting includes repeating the indication of device ID by the one or more specific unit devices to the other unit devices (Paragraph 0074; communicating operational data 1002 between the controller 409 and individual ones of the facility components. This can comprise individually-directed communications (using, for example, a unique address identifier for each of the individual facility components), group-directed communications (where, for example, a category or group identifier is used to permit all lights to be activated with a single broadcast command), or general broadcasts that are directed to all of the facility components. Paragraph 0075; in some cases these communications interfaces 1001 may comprise short-range platforms. It is therefore possible that such an interface 1001 may be positioned within a facility 100 at a location that is too far from the controller 409 to ensure reliable reception. In such a case, the data communications path elements 406 for a given self-storage facility 100 can also comprise one or more wireless repeaters. By one approach, this capability can be built into the communications interfaces 1001 themselves. So configured, such an interface 1001 can serve to transmit both the messages that are sourced by their corresponding facility component as well as messages that are received from other communications interfaces 1001 for other facility components).
Regarding claim 11, the combination of Keller and Wright teaches all of the limitations of claim 10, as described above. Further, Keller teaches wherein the network proximity is defined relative to the specific unit device (Paragraph 0075; in some cases these communications interfaces 1001 may comprise short-range platforms. It is therefore possible that such an interface 1001 may be positioned within a facility 100 at a location that is too far from the controller 409 to ensure reliable reception. In such a case, the data communications path elements 406 for a given self-storage facility 100 can also comprise one or more wireless repeaters. By one approach, this capability can be built into the communications interfaces 1001 themselves. So configured, such an interface 1001 can serve to transmit both the messages that are sourced by their corresponding facility component as well as messages that are received from other communications interfaces 1001 for other facility components).
Regarding claim 12, the combination of Keller and Wright teaches all of the limitations of claim 9, as described above. Further, Keller teaches wherein determining is performed at least partially by the specific unit device (Paragraph 0074; communicating operational data 1002 between the controller 409 and individual ones of the facility components. This can comprise individually-directed communications (using, for example, a unique address identifier for each of the individual facility components), group-directed communications (where, for example, a category or group identifier is used to permit all lights to be activated with a single broadcast command), or general broadcasts that are directed to all of the facility components. Paragraphs 0116-0117, 0124 and 0126; a facility controller 409 that operably couples to the lighting fixtures 1901, 1902 via, for example, a lighting control interface 1903. By one approach, this lighting control interface 1903 can be realized via the communication interfaces described earlier. So configured, the controller 409 is able to control the illumination state of these lighting fixtures 1901, 1902 in support of these teachings).
Regarding claim 13, the combination of Keller and Wright teaches all of the limitations of claim 1, as described above. Further, Keller teaches wherein the request includes a request to locate more than one specified unit (Paragraph 0129; the predetermined event can comprise the arrival of public safety personnel at the facility. In this case, the process 1800 may provide for identifying each self-storage unit that corresponds to an end user who is presently visiting the self-storage facility to thereby provide a plurality of identified self-storage units. This process 1800 can then provide for automatically controlling the lighting to uniquely denote particular paths (at the same time or in seriatim fashion as desired) that will direct the public safety personnel to these self-storage units).
Regarding claim 14, the combination of Keller and Wright teaches all of the limitations of claim 1, as described above. Further, Keller teaches wherein the visual indication of the physical location includes directions from a known location and/or the mobile device location (Figure 20 and Paragraphs 0124 and 0126; to uniquely denote this particular path 2002 [to the user’s storage unit], the controller causes the three lights denoted by reference numeral 2003 to begin blinking intermittently in a sequential pattern that “points” or leads to the left. As the end user follows this particular path 2005 and reaches the corridor 2008 that includes self-storage unit 10, sequentially blinking lights 2009 are again employed to lead the end user into and down this corridor 2008. In addition, in this illustrative example, the particular light 2010 that corresponds to the end user's unit 2001 is blinking at a different rate than the other blinking lights).
Regarding claim 15, the combination of Keller and Wright teaches all of the limitations of claim 1, as described above. Further, Keller teaches wherein the visual indication of the physical location includes a lighted path and blinking light indicating the physical location within the self-storage facility (Figure 20 and Paragraph 0124; to uniquely denote this particular path 2002 [to the user’s storage unit], the controller causes the three lights denoted by reference numeral 2003 to begin blinking intermittently in a sequential pattern that “points” or leads to the left. Paragraph 0126; as the end user follows this particular path 2005 and reaches the corridor 2008 that includes self-storage unit 10, sequentially blinking lights 2009 are again employed to lead the end user into and down this corridor 2008. In addition, in this illustrative example, the particular light 2010 that corresponds to the end user's unit 2001 is blinking at a different rate than the other blinking lights).
In addition, Wright teaches a map indicating the physical location within the self-storage facility (Paragraph 0346; monitoring a given storage space utilizing one or more monitoring devices 100, the HIS 400 may allow display via user device 303, 305, 309 and/or 311 the deployed monitoring devices 100 in a representative 2D and/or 3D map of a given storage facility 345). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before ethe effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Keller and Wright because there is a need for electronic device with monitoring sensors that may be readily, easily and quickly installed to offer on-demand monitoring service by the facility owner/operator for use by the controlled space tent to monitor a given controlled unit’s interior spaces and/or assets (Wright, Paragraph 0010).
Pertinent Prior Arts
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Shoen et al. (US 20060206342 A1) discloses an automated self-storage reservation and management system that enables customers to make a reservation for a self-storage unit, view a map of the storage facility and other functions.
Reynolds (US 20160090774 A1) discloses a portable self-storage system that comprise processor to control and operate portable container, fence and light of the self-storage system.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Jing Gao whose telephone number is (571)270-7226. The examiner can normally be reached on 9am - 6pm M-F.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor Alison Slater can be reached on (571) 270-0375. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Jing Gao/
Examiner, Art Unit 2647
Prosecution Insights