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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s amendment, filed February 13, 2026, with respect to the rejections of claims have been fully considered. Applicant's amendment necessitated the new grounds of rejection presented below by introducing the new references of Ng et al (US 2019/0094935) and Tokuchi et al (US 2019/0259389).
Drawings
The drawings are objected to because there is no caption on the numeric labels of each element in the Figure. For example, in the Figure, the label 50 should include “gateway”. Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Objections
Claims 12 – 14 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Re claims 12 – 14, the reference numbers enclosed within parentheses corresponding to elements recited in the drawings could be removed. 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.
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.
Claims 12 – 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ng et al (US 2019/0094935) in view of Tokuchi et al (US 2019/0259389).
Re claim 12, Ng teaches of a communication system, comprising: an electricity network, wherein the electricity network is a public electricity network or a construction-site electricity network (#64, Fig.6 and Paragraph 0028); a first electrical device (10) (#92, Fig.9) that is supplyable with electrical energy via a first supply line (12) (first supply line connected to power line #14, Fig.5) of the public electricity network or the construction-site electricity network (first IoT, Fig.5); and a second electrical device (10) (#92, Fig.9) that is supplyable with electrical energy via a second supply line (12) (second supply line connected to power line #14, Fig.5) of the public electricity network or the construction-site electricity network (second IoT, Fig.5); wherein the first electrical device (10) has a first internal functional unit (14); wherein the second electrical device (10) has a second internal functional (14) unit (both devices have a PLC USB power adapter, #31, Figures 4 – 6 and 9); wherein the first electrical device (10) and the second electrical device (10) directly exchange data with one another via the first internal functional unit (14) and the second internal functional (14) unit (This enables data to be transferred between the IoT devices 30 or between IoT devices 30 and PLC Gateway 51, Paragraph 0026) over the public electricity network or the construction-site electricity network (#64, Fig.6). Ng further teaches of wherein the first electrical device (10) and the second electrical device (10) are each a desk lamp, an oven or an air conditioner, etc. The electronic device 92 can be almost any electronic device that requires exchange of data signals with a data communication network such as the Internet. (Paragraph 0031). However, Ng does not specifically mention of wherein the first electrical device (10) and the second electrical device (10) are each a power tool or a vacuum cleaning apparatus or a water-management device or a feed apparatus or a charger.
Tokuch teaches of electrical devices are each a power tool or a vacuum cleaning apparatus or a water-management device or a feed apparatus or a charger (Paragraph 0017).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have electrical devices be a vacuum cleaning apparatus as an IoT apparatus for improved energy efficiency and proactive maintenance alerts.
Re claim 13, Ng teaches of further comprising a gateway (50) external to, and coupled to, the public electricity network or the construction-site electricity network for external access to the first electrical device (10) and the second electrical device (10) via the public electricity network or the construction-site electricity network (PLC gateway, Fig.5).
Claim 14 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ng and Tokuchi in view of Chen et al (US 2014/0118120).
Re claim 14, Ng and Tokuchi teach all the limitations of claim 13 except of wherein the gateway (50) is configured to communicate with a mobile communication apparatus and/or a cloud that is external to the public electricity network or the construction-site electricity network.
Chen teaches of a gateway (50) (#20, Fig.1) is configured to communicate with a mobile communication apparatus and/or a cloud that is external to the public electricity network or the construction-site electricity network (#10, Fig.1).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the gateway configured to communicate with a mobile communication apparatus for enhanced connectivity, lower operational costs and improved security.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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.
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/ARISTOCRATIS FOTAKIS/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2633