DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
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.
The Information Disclosure Statements, filed 26 October 2023 and 23 July 2024 have been fully considered by the examiner. Signed copies are attached.
Acknowledgement is made of the preliminary amendment to the claims, drawing, specification and abstract filed on 26 October 2023, and the application is being examined on the basis of the amended disclosure.
Claims 1-15 are pending.
Claims 1-15 are rejected, grounds follow.
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Claim Objections
Claim 2 is objected to because of the following informalities:
Use of acronyms OFDM and QAM without first setting forth their full terms; Examiner suggests amendment to: “Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiplexing (OFDM) or Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM) techniques”
Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claim(s) 1-15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Vaghasiya et al., US Pg-Pub 2022/0328273 in view of Kagan, US Pg-Pub 2018/0332038.
Regarding Claim 1, Vaghasiya teaches:
A control device for electrical installations, (fig. 1, [0033] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a remote load switching circuit breaker system 10)
wherein said control device is operatively couplable to or included in a switching device (primary and secondary contacts 2 and 4) and includes or is electrically connectable to a first power supply unit, (fig. 2, power supply 200)
wherein first power supply unit is configured to harvest electric power from a feeding electric line to feed said control device, ([0033] “HOT (LINE/IN) conductor 12, a LOAD (OUT) conductor 14, and a NEUTRAL conductor 16. The HOT conductor 12 may be electrically connected to a power source (not shown) such as 120 Vac residential power or another suitable power source. The AC power source may be coupled to a power supply and sensing circuit (e.g., a power supply and sensing circuit 200 as described with reference to FIG. 2) within the remote load switching circuit breaker 1.”)
wherein said control device comprises: a control unit; (Controller 110, see fig. 2)
a wireless transceiver unit operatively coupled to said control unit, (Communication Module 120, see fig. 2) wherein said wireless transceiver unit is configured to communicate with other electronic devices (e.g. user terminal / phone 18, see [0033]) using a short-range communication protocol; ([0029] “short range wireless communication (as shown in FIG. 4) may include Bluetooth™ low energy (BLE), ZigBee, or WiFi, and allows a gateway edge user devices (e.g., a cellular phone, an access point device, a tablet, a desktop, etc.) to communicate with a communication module within the remote load switching circuit breaker”)
wherein the wireless transceiver unit is configured to broadcast beacon data packets ([0029] “The user is alerted on his/her edge devices (e.g., cellular phones) when the remote load switching circuit breaker trips with a type of condition that caused the tripping of the circuit breaker.”) cyclically and for a predetermined time interval, ([0043] “The control circuit 100 may periodically transmit a status of the remote switching circuit breaker 1 to the user device, e.g., the edge device via Bluetooth™ low energy (BLE) wirelessly.”) if said first power supply unit cannot feed said control device, (e.g. if the line voltage check fails, see [0041] “The breaker self-test includes a line side voltage check, frequency check, multiple ZCD checks.”)
wherein said beacon data packets include information signaling an alert condition, (e.g. [0089] “transmits a message a message to a user device alerting a user of the detected fault. The message may include the voltage or current value of the fault, which branch within the facility, building or residence is experiencing the fault, which load within the branch is causing the detected default, etc.”)
and wherein said beacon data packets are detectable by at least a mobile computerized device ([0057] “The user device 18A may be any HMI (Human Machine Interface) devices, e.g., a cellular phone, a laptop, or any other device that can communicate in short distance.”) in which a software application configured to detect and process said beacon data packets is stored and executed. (see e.g. [0046] “The firmware (firmware 112 of FIG. 2) may include instructions for a software application to be downloaded to the user device 18 wirelessly. … The user may receive messages from the communication module 120, transmit commands to the remote load switching load device 1, and switch on and off the loads remotely and wirelessly. The messages may be a pop up on a screen of the user device, which the user may click and view the content of the messages.”)
Vaghasiya differs from the claimed invention in that:
and a second power supply unit operatively coupled to said wireless transceiver unit, wherein said second power supply unit is configured to feed said wireless transceiver unit, when said first power supply unit cannot feed said control device;
However, Kagan teaches a control device for electrical installations (IED 100, see fig. 1, Kagan [0044]) which has a line fed power supply ([0045] “The power supply 160 may be coupled to power lines of the electrical service 101”) but also includes a backup battery ([0047] “an optional power backup (for example, replaceable battery).”)
Kagan is analogous art because it is from the same field of endeavor as the claimed invention and other references of control devices for electrical installations and contains overlapping structural and functional similarities; each controls an aspect of an electrical installation such as a switch or breaker; each supplies power to the control system with line fed power supplies.
Accordingly, Examiner finds 1) the prior art contained a “base” device (method, or product) upon which the claimed invention can be seen as an “improvement” – the control device for electrical installations of Vaghasiya which differs by the inclusion of a second power supply for feeding power when the first power supply cannot; 2) the prior art contained a “comparable” device (method or product that is not the same as the base device) that has been improved in the same way as the claimed invention – the control device for electrical installations of Kagan, which has been improved in the same way by the inclusion of a secondary battery backup power supply. 3) one of ordinary skill in the art could before the effective filing date of the application have applied the known “improvement” technique in the same way to the “base” device (method, or product) and the results would have been predictable to one of ordinary skill in the art as a means to extend the duration of the temporary backup power mentioned by Vaghasiya ([0040] “temporary power backup available in the power supply and sensing circuit (e.g., a capacitor shown in FIG. 10).”) and accordingly the improvement would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the application (See MPEP 2143.I.C)
Regarding Claims 8 and 12, these claims recite the substantively the same subject matter, except embodied as a computerized signaling system and a switching device, respectively; Mutatis Mutandis, these claims are likewise obvious in view of Vaghasiya and Kagan for the same reasons articulated with respect to claim 1.
Regarding Claim 2, Vaghasiya in view of Kagan teaches all of the limitations of parent claim 1,
Vaghasiya further teaches:
wherein the wireless transceiver unit is configured to communicate using a short-range communication protocol different from communication protocols using OFDM or QAM techniques. ([0029] “short range wireless communication (as shown in FIG. 4) may include Bluetooth™ low energy (BLE), ZigBee, or WiFi, and allows a gateway edge user devices (e.g., a cellular phone, an access point device, a tablet, a desktop, etc.) to communicate with a communication module within the remote load switching circuit breaker”)
Regarding Claim 3, Vaghasiya in view of Kagan teaches all of the limitations of parent claim 1,
Vaghasiya further teaches:
wherein the wireless transceiver unit is configured to communicate using a Bluetooth or Zigbee communication protocol. ([0029] “short range wireless communication (as shown in FIG. 4) may include Bluetooth™ low energy (BLE), ZigBee, or WiFi, and allows a gateway edge user devices (e.g., a cellular phone, an access point device, a tablet, a desktop, etc.) to communicate with a communication module within the remote load switching circuit breaker”)
Regarding Claim 4, Vaghasiya in view of Kagan teaches all of the limitations of parent claim 1,
Vaghasiya further teaches:
wherein the wireless transceiver unit is configured to interrupt a transmission of said beacon data packets, if said wireless transceiver unit receives an acknowledgment message from a mobile computerized device detecting said beacon data packets. (Examiner notes this is a feature of the ZigBee transmission protocol and Vaghasiya teaches use of ZigBee protocol for transmission, see [0029], citations supra.).
nb. for example, see Scannell Jr. US Pg-Pub 2006/0154642, particularly [0156]; representative of the general background knowledge of one of ordinary skill in the art regarding said transmission protocol: “[0156] ZigBee, being designed for the hostile RF environments that routinely exist in mainstream commercial and industrial applications, supports the critical need for reliable communications … It incorporates an IEEE 802.15.4 defined CSMA-CA (carrier-sense medium-access with collision avoidance) protocol that reduces the probability of interfering with other users and automatic retransmission of data ensures robustness. Utilizing Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum with features including collision avoidance, receiver energy detection, link quality indication, clear channel assessment, acknowledgement, security, support for guaranteed time slots and packet freshness;”)
Regarding Claim 5, Vaghasiya in view of Kagan teaches all of the limitations of parent claim 1,
Kagan further teaches:
wherein the second power supply unit includes a battery or a storage capacitor. ([0047] “an optional power backup (for example, replaceable battery).”)
Regarding Claim 6, Vaghasiya in view of Kagan teaches all of the limitations of parent claim 1,
Kagan further teaches:
wherein the control device comprises a first HMI unit operatively coupled to said control unit, (fig. 1, User interface circuit 130)
wherein a user can set one or more transmission parameters of said beacon data packets by said wireless transceiver unit through said first HMI unit. ([0048] “The user interface unit 130 generally includes a front panel display 132 (e.g., liquid crystal display (LCD) or plasma display), indicators 134 (for example, LED indicators), and actuators, or user controls, 136. The actuators 136 include pushbuttons, switches and selectors that allow to select/modify configuration settings of the meter 100”)
Regarding Claim 7, Vaghasiya in view of Kagan teaches all of the limitations of parent claim 1,
Vaghasiya further teaches:
wherein the control device comprises a second HMI unit (User Interface 18A, see [0057] and fig. 1) operatively coupled to said wireless transceiver unit, ([0053] “the communication module 120 operates in conjunction with the controller 110 based on the user commands.”)
wherein a user can command ([0043] “The user may access the status of the remote switching circuit breaker 1 and read a status log as desired via the Bluetooth™ device.”) said wireless transceiver unit to broadcast said beacon data packets through said second HMI unit, ([0029] “it is possible for the user to remotely monitor the status of the remote load switching circuit breaker and its logs (stored in a memory) through edge user devices.”)
and wherein said wireless transceiver unit is configured to broadcast said beacon data packets in response to a command received from said second HMI unit, if said first power supply unit cannot feed said control device. (e.g. responsive to a command to perform the power-quality test, in the event the test fails, see [0005] “ the controller including a firmware configured to instruct the control circuit to perform a pre-check for at least one of power quality test and breaker self-test based at least in part on the user command;”)
Regarding Claim 9, Vaghasiya in view of Kagan teaches all of the limitations of parent claim 8,
Vaghasiya further teaches:
wherein the software application is configured to generate and display a notification, if said beacon data packets are detected by said mobile computerized device. ([0046] “The messages may be a pop up on a screen of the user device”)
Regarding Claims 10 and 13, Vaghasiya in view of Kagan teaches all of the limitations of parent claims 8 and 9 respectively,
Vaghasiya further teaches:
(Claim 10 representative) wherein the software application is configured to send an alert message to one or more remote computerized devices or platforms, if said beacon data packets are detected. ([0058] “The circuit breaker 1 is coupled to a gateway 20A via a short distance communications technologies such as BLE, ZigBee, etc. The gateway 20A is in turn coupled to the user devices 18 via access point communication A or the utility cloud 20B which is communicatively coupled to the user devices 18. The utility cloud 20B may communicate with the user device 18 via LTE, LTE-A, LTE-pro, or even WiFi. As such, the long distance communication between a remote load switching circuit breaker 1 and the user devices 18 may be achieved”)
Regarding Claim 11, 14 and 15, Vaghasiya in view of Kagan teaches all of the limitations of parent claim 8, 9 and 10, respectively;
Vaghasiya further teaches:
(Claim 11 representative) wherein the software application is configured to transmit an acknowledgement message to the one or more control devices transmitting said beacon data packets, if said beacon data packets are detected. (Examiner notes this is a feature of the ZigBee transmission protocol and Vaghasiya teaches use of ZigBee protocol for transmission, see [0029], citations supra.).
nb. for example, see Scannell Jr. US Pg-Pub 2006/0154642, particularly [0156]; representative of the general background knowledge of one of ordinary skill in the art regarding said transmission protocol: “[0156] ZigBee, being designed for the hostile RF environments that routinely exist in mainstream commercial and industrial applications, supports the critical need for reliable communications … It incorporates an IEEE 802.15.4 defined CSMA-CA (carrier-sense medium-access with collision avoidance) protocol that reduces the probability of interfering with other users and automatic retransmission of data ensures robustness. Utilizing Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum with features including collision avoidance, receiver energy detection, link quality indication, clear channel assessment, acknowledgement, security, support for guaranteed time slots and packet freshness;”)
Conclusion
Examiner notes an Interview may be beneficial in advancing prosecution of this application.
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Kennedy US 10,630,069 – solid state Circuit Interrupter including both a primary, e.g. line, and backup power supply, e.g. battery; similar to the type depicted in e.g. fig. 1 of the overall disclosure.
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/J.T.S./Examiner, Art Unit 2119
/ZIAUL KARIM/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2119