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 .
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.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention. The last paragraphs of claims 1 and 7 are ambiguous as whether or not the advertising signal is causing an ad to display on the user held device (such as a smartphone). The other claims are indefinite because they are dependent on an indefinite base claim.
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.
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 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.
Claims 1-3 and 5-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102((a)(1) as anticipated by or, in the alternative, under 35 U.S.C. 103 as obvious over Azzano et al (US PG Pub # 2014/0272049). The Azzano reference discloses a non-wearable measurement apparatus (para. # 0015 & 0022-0024) comprising:
a wireless communication interface (209) configured to execute wireless communication with an information terminal (para. # 0016);
a sensor (316) configured to detect a change in a surrounding environment when the measurement apparatus is not in use (para. # 0020); and
a controller (302) configured to, in response to the sensor (316) detecting the change in the surrounding environment, cause the wireless communication interface to transmit an advertisement signal for the wireless communication before use of the measurement apparatus (para. # 0017 & 0020).
From the claim language, it is unclear if the wireless signal from the kiosk was intended to made an ad appear on a separate device, such as a user’s mobile phone. However, even given this alternative interpretation of the ambiguous claim language to mean that the ad is displayed on the screen of the mobile device instead of on the kiosk display screen, since the kiosk of Azzano communicates two way wirelessly with a user’s mobile device, and causes an ad to display on a screen in response to wirelessly detecting the proximity of a user’s mobile device (para. # 0020), it would have been a simple matter of design choice to make the ad appear on the user’s mobile device on the same mobile app used to alert the kiosk and pay the vendor, as an obvious alternative to displaying the ad on the display screen on the kiosk.
With respect to claims 2, 3, 5, and ,6 see paragraph # 0020.
Claims 1-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102((a)(1) as anticipated by or, in the alternative, under 35 U.S.C. 103 as obvious over Kovacs et al (US # 10,390,772). The Kovacs reference discloses a non-wearable measurement apparatus (Abs.) comprising:
a wireless communication interface (1810) configured to execute wireless communication with an information terminal (Col. 10, ll. 43-62; Col. 24, ll. 26-34);
a sensor (accelerometers) configured to detect a change in a surrounding environment when the measurement apparatus is not in use (Col. 10, ll. 27-42; Col. 24, ll. 35-52); and
a controller (106) configured to transmit an advertisement signal for the wireless communication before use of the measurement apparatus (Col. 2, ll. 30-46).
It is unclear if the ad displays just prior to using the scale, but since the scale is in low power mode before the user steps on it (meaning the scale display 102 is off), the ad cannot display before then.
From the claim language, it is unclear if the wireless signal from the scale was intended to made an ad appear on a separate device, such as a user’s mobile phone. However, even given this alternative interpretation of the ambiguous claim language to mean that the ad is displayed on the screen of the mobile device instead of on the scale display screen, since the scale of Kovacs communicates two way wirelessly with a user’s mobile device, and causes an ad to display on a screen, it would have been a simple matter of design choice to make the ad appear on the user’s mobile device on the same mobile app used to communicate with the scale.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to RANDY W GIBSON whose telephone number is (571)272-2103. The examiner can normally be reached Tue-Friday 10AM-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, Peter Macchiarolo can be reached at 571-272-2375. 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.
RANDY W. GIBSON
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2856
/RANDY W GIBSON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2855