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 .
The present Office Action is in response to Applicant’s filing of April 25, 2024. Claims 1-14 are presented for examination, with Claim 1 being the only one in independent form.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on April 25, 2024 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement has been considered by the examiner.
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 1-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by DE102015010918A1 (“Fehringer”), translation provided herewith, pinpoint citations are to the translation..
Regarding Claim 1, Fehringer discloses a luminaire for a passenger cabin of a passenger aircraft (Figs. 1-2; [0005]),
comprising at least one LED having an operating parameter ([0007]), with the LED being able to be dimmed based on a change in said operating parameter, wherein each of the LEDs is assigned a minimum value of the operating parameter from which the LED lights up (PWM dimming; [0005]; [0011]; [0055]),
comprising a control input for receiving an as-intended control signal for the luminaire (command interface 14 for receiving CMS control command 18; [0053]-[0054]),
wherein the control signal has, in addition to a switch-off value, at least two different dimming values as control values, which correspond to respective different brightnesses of the LEDs ([0011]; [0014]; [0019]),
comprising a control unit (CMS 16 + control unit 10; [0053]) containing an assignment rule for the LEDs, wherein each of the control values is assigned a specific value of the operating parameter of each of the LEDs based on the assignment rule ([0058]),
wherein the assignment rule is calculated such that the minimum value of the operating parameter for each of the LEDs is at least reached for each of the dimming values (assignment of colors and brightness of the LEDs; [0055]; [0058]).
Regarding Claim 2, Fehringer further discloses wherein the assignment rule is stored in the luminaire so as to be able to be changed in such a way that the assignment rule can be adapted to different minimum values (in control unit 10 of illumination device 4; [0055]; [0058]).
Regarding Claim 3, Fehringer further discloses wherein the control signal is a PWM signal ([0053]).
Regarding Claim 4, Fehringer further discloses wherein the operating parameter is a supply voltage for the LED ([0011]; [0053]).
Regarding Claim 5, Fehringer further discloses wherein the luminaire contains a memory containing for the LEDs a correction value taken into account in the assignment rule (databases 32 in control unit 10; [0057]), said correction value being calculated in conjunction with the rest of the assignment rule such that the minimum value of the operating parameter for the LEDs is at least reached for each of the dimming values (assignment of colors and brightness of the LEDs; [0055]; [0058]).
Regarding Claim 6, Fehringer further discloses wherein a correction value is available in the memory for all of the LEDs of the luminaire (databases 32 in control unit 10; [0057]; assignment of colors and brightness of the LEDs; [0055]; [0058]).
Regarding Claim 7, Fehringer further discloses wherein the memory is a non-volatile memory (databases including Tables 1-4; [0059]-[0063]).
Regarding Claim 8, Fehringer further discloses wherein the assignment rule contains a constant rule and a multiplicative or additive correction rule upstream or downstream of the constant rule, and the correction value is an additive correction offset or multiplicative correction factor in the correction rule for the constant rule.
Regarding Claim 9, Fehringer further discloses wherein the correction value is constant for at least two of the dimming values (assignment of colors and brightness of the LEDs; [0055]; [0058]).
Regarding Claim 10, Fehringer further discloses wherein the assignment rule is calculated such that the minimum value in the operating parameter is just reached for the dimming value that corresponds to the lowest brightness of the LEDs (assignment of colors and brightness of the LEDs; [0055]; [0058]).
Regarding Claim 11, Fehringer further discloses wherein the luminaire contains LEDs of different light colours ([0007]; assignment of colors and brightness of the LEDs; [0055]; [0058]).
Regarding Claim 12, Fehringer further discloses wherein the assignment rule is consistent for all of the LEDs of the luminaire of the same light colour (assignment of colors and brightness of the LEDs; [0055]; [0058]).
Regarding Claim 13, Fehringer further discloses wherein the assignment rule is determined by means of a visual test representative of the respective LED or by means of a measuring device (scene commands 24 in cabin management system 16 GUI 22; [0054]).
Regarding Claim 14, Fehringer further discloses a luminaire arrangement for a passenger cabin of a passenger aircraft (Figs. 1-2; [0005]),
comprising at least one luminaire according to Claim 1, and
comprising a light control system (CMS 16; [0054]) connected to the control input (14) and set up to generate the as-intended control signal (command interface 14 for receiving CMS control command 18; [0053]-[0054])0.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
U.S. Patent Publication No. 2019/0069369 (“Schevardo”) relates to a passenger cabin having an illumination arrangement. See, Fig. 4, in particular.
U.S. Patent No. 10,159,124 (“Trinschek”) relates to a dimmable LED light unit. See, Figs. 2-4, in particular.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PEDRO C FERNANDEZ whose telephone number is (571)272-7050. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9-5 EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Alexander H Taningco can be reached at 1-(571) 272-8048. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/PEDRO C FERNANDEZ/Examiner, Art Unit 2844
/ALEXANDER H TANINGCO/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2844