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 .
This Office Action is in response to the Applicant’s amendment submitted on May 25, 2026. In virtue of this amendment, claims 46-65 are now pending in the instant application.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 –
(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.
Claims 46-47, 49, 51-52, 59 and 63 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Baek et al. (US 2017/0127497 of record).
With respect to claim 1, Baek discloses in figure 2 a method for testing a luminaire system (100, e.g., a lighting system), and in particular for testing whether a controller (130, e.g., a control device) of the luminaire system has been correctly installed (see figure 2 and paragraph 0034, e.g., “the lighting system 100 is installed”), said controller being configured to control a light source (122, e.g., a light source) of the luminaire system, wherein, during installation, the controller is connected through a first connection interface (CI-1, e.g., a first connection interface) to a driver (121, e.g., a driver) for driving the light source or to the light source, for controlling a light level emitted by the light source (paragraph 0035, e.g., “the lighting unit 120 may include a lighting source 122 having an LED and a driver 121 supply a driving voltage, a driving current and the like to the LED”), the method comprising automatically controlling by the controller the following step, upon powering the luminaire system: a) applying a light output control profile (paragraph 0040, e.g., having a memory 133 for storing data control profile thereof) for controlling a light output of the light source (see figure 2, e.g., controlling a light output of the light source by the controller 130) during a time period (paragraph 0040, e.g., “the processor 132 may store at least a portion of information in the memory 133 every predetermined period”), and determining at least one measure representative for the light output of the light source during said time period (see paragraphs 0042-0043, e.g., having an illumination sensor for measuring thereof).
PNG
media_image1.png
734
839
media_image1.png
Greyscale
With respect to claim 47, Baek discloses that wherein the method further comprises after step a) automatically controlling by the controller the following step: if the at least one measure does not fulfil at least one predetermined criterion, indicating a failure of the test (see paragraph 0043, e.g., “the event information may be used later to analyze a failure or the like caused by an administrator”).
With respect to claim 49, Baek discloses that wherein the at least one measure comprises any one or more of the following: a measure for the power consumption such as a power value, a voltage value or a current value, a measure for a light intensity of the light output, a measure for a color of the light output, or a measure for a light pattern of the light output (figure 2 shows a illumination sensor 112 and an ambient light sensor 115 for measuring thereof), and/or wherein the step of applying a light output control profile is configured to apply at least a first power level during a first time period and a second different power level during a second time period, wherein the step of determining comprises determining a first and second measure representative for a first and second light output of the light source during said first and second time period, respectively, wherein preferably the first power level corresponds with 80-100% of the maximum available power, and/or wherein preferably the second power level corresponds with a value between 5 and 50% of the maximum available power, and/or wherein preferably the first and the second time period are each less than 30s, preferably less than 20s (see figure 9 and paragraphs 0095-0096).
With respect to claim 51, Baek discloses that wherein the step of determining at least one measure representative for the light output of the light source comprises measuring a power consumption using measurement circuitry (131, e.g., a communication unit for receiving a measuring data from the sensing unit 110) provided in the controller or in the driver (see figure 2).
With respect to claim 52, Baek discloses that wherein the step of indicating a failure of the test if the at least one predetermined criterion is not fulfilled comprises any one or more of the following: providing a visible signal to the installer, using an indication lamp or a display; or providing an audible signal to the installer, communicating the failure to a remote server and/or to a mobile device of the installer (see figures 2-3).
With respect to claim 59, Baek discloses in figure 2 a controller (130, e.g., a control device) configured to control a light source (122, e.g., a light source) of a luminaire system (100, e.g., a lighting system), the controller having a first connection interface (CI-1, e.g., a first connection interface) for connecting the controller to a driver (121, e.g., a driver) for driving the light source or directly to the light source (see figure 2), the controller being configured to automatically control the following step, upon powering the luminaire system: a) applying a light output control profile (paragraph 0040, e.g., having a memory 133 for storing data control profile thereof) for controlling a light output of the light source (see figure 2, e.g., controlling a light output of the light source by the controller 130) during a time period (paragraph 0040, e.g., “the processor 132 may store at least a portion of information in the memory 133 every predetermined period”), and determining at least one measure representative for the light output of the light source during said time period (see paragraphs 0042-0043, e.g., having an illumination sensor for measuring thereof), wherein preferably the controller being configured to automatically control the following step after step a): if the at least one measure does not fulfil at least one predetermined criterion, indicating a failure of the test (paragraph 0065, e.g., “installation of the lighting system, a failure or a malfunction of at least a portion of components included in the lighting system, an abnormal movement detected by the motion sensor included in the lighting system or any other significant deviation from a reference parameter”).
With respect to claim 63, Baek discloses that wherein the controller is a pluggable control module, and/or (paragraph 0039, e.g., “a processor 132 may provide a plug-and-play function”).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 48, 57, 60-61 and 65 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims (claims 50, 53-56, 58, 62, 64 are also objected as being dependent upon objected claims 48 and 60 thereof).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 05/25/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
As claim 46: Applicant argued that the reference of Baek fails to disclose of “automatically controlling …, upon powering the luminaire system: applying a light output control profile for controlling a light output of the light source during said the time period; and determining at least one measure representative for the light output of the light source during said time period”. However, Examiner disagrees as following reasons: (1) figure 2 and paragraph 0040 clearly shows a memory 133 stored a light output control profile or data to control the light source of the light source 122 during a predetermined period thereof and (2) figure 2 also shows an illumination sensor 122 for performing a function of determining the light output of the light source 122 thereof that have been well known in the art.
As claim 48: claim 48 is hereby withdrawn from further reconsideration thereof.
As claim 49, claim 49 is still rejected the underline limitations only as described above since the “OR” statement thereof.
As claim 51, claim 51 is still rejected the underline limitations only as described above since the “OR” statement thereof.
As claim 60: claim 60 is hereby withdrawn from further reconsideration thereof.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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 TUNG X LE whose telephone number is (571)272-6010. The examiner can normally be reached Monday to Friday from 10am to 6pm.
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, Alexander H. Taningco can be reached at 571-272-8048. 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.
/TUNG X LE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2845 August 10, 2026
Prosecution Insights