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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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(s) 1, 2 and 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)1 as being anticipated by Hoekstra et al. (US 2015/0177917, hereinafter HOEKSTRA).
With respect to claims 1 and 11, HOEKSTRA discloses a management system with a controller that acquires information relating to toilet devices and installation environments and manages inspection, maintenance, repair, and replacement activities based on that information (¶¶ [0023], [0026], [0042], [0069]–[0074]).
With respect to claim 2, HOEKSTRA discloses collecting toilet type, model, manufacturer, installation data, usage statistics, sensor-detected status, maintenance history, and inspection/cleaning results (¶¶ [0024]–[0027], [0045], [0071]–[0076]).
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, 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) 3-10 and 12-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hoekstra et al. (US 2015/0177917, hereinafter HOEKSTRA), in view of Ferrara et al. (US 2015/0234923, hereinafter FERRARA).
With respect to claim 3, HOEKSTRA discloses service management but does not emphasize billing structure.
FERRARA discloses managing facility/equipment maintenance services under fixed-fee or subscription billing for defined service periods (¶¶ [0020], [0048], [0072]).
It would have been obvious to incorporate FERRARA’s fixed-fee billing model into HOEKSTRA’s toilet maintenance management system to provide predictable service costs, a known business optimization (KSR).
With respect to claim 4, FERRARA discloses calculating service fees based on asset data, usage, service frequency, and condition information (¶¶ [0050]–[0053], [0075]).
Applying this calculation to HOEKSTRA’s toilet usage and condition data would have been an obvious design choice.
With respect to claim 5, FERRARA teaches determining maintenance/cleaning scope and frequency based on asset condition and usage, and calculating corresponding fees (¶¶ [0051], [0078]–[0081]).
HOEKSTRA supplies the toilet-specific condition and usage data used in such determination (¶¶ [0068]–[0073]).
With respect to claim 6, FERRARA discloses presenting service plans, service details, and billing amounts via a user interface/dashboard (¶¶ [0023], [0049], [0082]).
With respect to claim 7, FERRARA discloses dynamically updating billing amounts based on inspection results, maintenance history, usage levels, and service duration (¶¶ [0052], [0076], [0080]).
HOEKSTRA provides the toilet usage and inspection results used as inputs.
With respect to claim 8, HOEKSTRA explicitly discloses sensors detecting toilet usage, malfunctions, and cleanliness conditions and managing maintenance actions accordingly (¶¶ [0040]–[0044], [0065]–[0072]).
With respect to claim 9, HOEKSTRA discloses diagnosing malfunctions and determining appropriate maintenance actions, including repair or replacement, based on sensor data and device condition (¶¶ [0046], [0073]–[0077]).
With respect to claim 10, HOEKSTRA discloses tracking manufacturer/model information and recommending replacement units based on predefined criteria or compatibility (¶¶ [0025], [0075]).
With respect to claim 12, HOEKSTRA discloses acquiring detailed toilet device information including type, usage status, inspection results, and cleaning results, and managing maintenance services based on such information (¶¶ [0023]–[0027], [0069]–[0074]).
FERRARA discloses managing billing for facility or equipment maintenance services under a fixed-fee or subscription-based pricing model for a predetermined service period (¶¶ [0020], [0048], [0072]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to apply FERRARA’s fixed-fee billing scheme to the toilet maintenance services managed by HOEKSTRA in order to provide predictable and simplified service billing.
With respect to claim 13, FERRARA discloses calculating service fees based on asset-related information, including condition, service scope, and usage data (¶¶ [0050]–[0053]).
HOEKSTRA provides the toilet-specific information (usage status, inspection and cleaning results) used as inputs to such billing calculations (¶¶ [0024], [0045], [0071]).
With respect to claim 14, FERRARA discloses determining the scope, frequency, and type of maintenance services to be performed during a contract period based on asset condition and usage, and calculating corresponding service fees (¶¶ [0051], [0078]–[0081]).
HOEKSTRA discloses determining inspection, cleaning, repair, or replacement needs for toilet devices based on collected usage and condition data (¶¶ [0068]–[0073]).
With respect to claim 15, FERRARA discloses presenting service details, service plans, and calculated billing amounts via a graphical user interface or dashboard to users or administrators (¶¶ [0023], [0049], [0082]).
With respect to claim 16, FERRARA discloses dynamically updating billing amounts based on inspection results, maintenance outcomes, usage levels, and service duration (¶¶ [0052], [0076], [0080]).
HOEKSTRA discloses generating inspection results, cleaning results, and usage status data for toilet devices (¶¶ [0042], [0071]–[0076]).
It would have been obvious to update the billing amount for toilet maintenance services based on the results and usage information generated by HOEKSTRA using FERRARA’s dynamic billing update logic.
With respect to claim 17, The features of claim 17 are disclosed and suggested for the same reasons as claim 16 by the combination of HOEKSTRA (toilet usage and service results; ¶¶ [0069]–[0076]) and FERRARA (billing updates based on those factors; ¶¶ [0052], [0076]–[0081]).
With respect to claim 18, FERRARA discloses updating service fees after presentation of service details and billing information when service outcomes or usage conditions change (¶¶ [0049], [0076], [0080]).
HOEKSTRA discloses the generation of updated usage and inspection data that would trigger such billing updates (¶¶ [0045], [0073]–[0076]).
With respect to claim 19, FERRARA expressly discloses updating subscription or fixed-fee service charges based on ongoing service results and usage metrics (¶¶ [0076]–[0081]).
HOEKSTRA supplies the toilet-specific service results and usage metrics (¶¶ [0069]–[0076]).
With respect to claim 20, FERRARA teaches updating calculated billing amounts based on changes in service results, usage, and time (¶¶ [0052], [0076], [0080]).
HOEKSTRA teaches producing the underlying toilet usage and service data used for such updates (¶¶ [0042], [0071]–[0076]).
Conclusion
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/ROKIB MASUD/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3627