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 .
Status of claims: Claims 1-14 are pending below.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on April 24th, 2024 was filed and considered. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
Claim 14 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to non-statutory subject matter. The claim(s) does/do not fall within at least one of the four categories of patent eligible subject matter because a review of the specification of the instant invention detail “computer program product” is defined as “…computer program product embodied in one or more computer readable medium(s) having computer readable program code embodied, e.g., stored, thereon. Any combination of one or more computer readable medium(s) may be utilized. The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signal medium or a computer readable storage medium. A computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing,” where the inclusion of “electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared” are view as non-statutory subject matter. Examiner advise amendment to Office approve language “non-transitory computer readable medium” to overcome rejection.
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.
Claims 1-7 and 9-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over BERGMAN et al (US 2021/0092817 in view of BORRA et al (US 2024/0032179).
Claim 1, similarly claim 13-14:
BERGMAN et al (US 2021/0092817) teaches the following subject matter:
A system
at least one input interface (0009 detail user with input as a vector to control plurality of light sources to define their behavior and appearance/dynamic light effect; 0020 detail user input via a user interface to receiving the user input);
at least one control interface(0020 detail user interface for user input for controlling behavior and/or appearance of light sources; 0055 detail further teaching):
[[-]] obtain data indicative of an orientation and/or a shape of said lighting device (0055-0056 detail user input via a user interface to controller 100 to change behaviors parameter such as speed, direction (orientation), and further parameters of color, brightness, size and shape)
[[-]] control, via said at least one control interface(figure 1 and 0040 detail plurality of individually controllable light sources 112; figure 1 controller 100 and 0049-0051 detail controllable plurality of light to map out a first light source array and second light array (first and second light scene) with mapping out 2D and 3D array to such as star-shaped, square/box-shaped, circular/spherical),
[[-]] receive, via said at least one input interface(figure 2 and 0050-0053, specifically 0052-0053 detail changing appearance parameter such a decrease color and/or brightness as a function to affect the change the color, brightness, speed, shape, size, lifetime or any other parameter of the vectors to another/second light scene),
[[-]] select a type of transition based on said orientation and/or said shape, a first type of transition being selected for a first orientation or a first shape and a second type of transition being selected for a second orientation or a second shape (0052-0054 detail controller 100 may change the color, brightness, speed, shape, size, lifetime or any other parameter of a first vector based on a parameter of a second vector),
[[-]] determine a transition from said first light scene to said second light scene based on said selected type of transition (0052-0054 detail controller 100 may change the color, brightness, speed, shape, size, lifetime or any other parameter of a first vector based on a parameter of a second vector),
[[-]] control, via said at least one control interface(0052-0056 detail controller 100 may be configured to change at least one behavior parameter (e.g. speed, direction, lifetime, etc.) and/or at least one appearance parameter (e.g. color, brightness, size, shape, etc.) of the vector when the vector passes/enters/exits the area of influence), and
[[-]] control, via said at least one control interface(figure 2 and 0050-0053, specifically 0052-0053 detail changing appearance parameter such a decrease color and/or brightness as a function to affect the change the color, brightness, speed, shape, size, lifetime or any other parameter of the vectors to another/second light scene).
BERGMAN et al teaches all the subject matter above as well as lighting, but not the following:
pixelated lighting device.
BORRA et al teaches the following subject matter:
pixelated lighting device (figure 1 and 0048 detail user controls the pixelated array of light segments, where 0068 transition base on orientation).
BERGMAN et al and BORRA et al are both in the field regarding user control of lights scenery with transition such that the combine outcome is predictable.
Therefore it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill before the effective filing date to modify BERGMAN et al by BORRA et al with such changes in the transition is used to further fine-tune the transition profile as disclosed by BORRA et al in paragraph 0068.
Regarding claim 13, where figure 7 teaches the flowchart/method.
Regarding claim 1, where 0076 detail use of memory for computer program product.
Claim 2:
BORRA et al teach:
A system (1,50) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said input is user input (0020 detail user interface for user input for controlling behavior and/or appearance of light sources; 0055 detail further teaching).
Claim 3:
BORRA et al teach:
A system (1,50) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said first type of transition and said second type of transition are different spatial transitions (0011 detail behavior of vector relate to spatial motion; 0052-0056 detail controller 100 may be configured to change at least one behavior parameter (e.g. speed, direction, lifetime, etc.) and/or at least one appearance parameter (e.g. color, brightness, size, shape, etc.); 0060 detail controller 100 may know the predefined position of the sensor and the length of the light source array and the spatial distribution of its light sources).
Claim 4:
BORRA et al teach:
A system (1,50) as claimed in claim 3, wherein light settings from said first light scene are shifted towards a first side of said pixelated lighting device (10,40,50) and light settings from said second light scene are moved in at a second side of said pixelated lighting device (10,40,50) (figure 1 controller 100 and 0049-0051 detail controllable plurality of light to map out a first light source array and second light array (first and second light scene) with mapping out 2D and 3D array to such as star-shaped, square/box-shaped, circular/spherical).
Claim 5:
BORRA et al teach:
A system(figure 1 and 0049-0051 detail first light scene to second light scene such as mapping out 2D and 3D array to such as star-shaped, square/box-shaped, circular/spherical, where star, square and circular lighting show the shifting of lighting from center to outside or vice versa).
Claim 6:
BORRA et al teach:
A systemclaim 1, wherein said at least one processor(figure 1 and 0049-0051 detail transition such as 2D and 3D array to such as star-shaped, square/box-shaped, circular/spherical, and 0060 detail controller 100 may know the predefined position of the sensor and the length of the light source array and the spatial distribution of its light sources for these scenes).
Claim 7:
BORRA et al teach:
A systemclaim 1, wherein said at least one processor(figure 1 and 0049-0051 detail transition such as 2D and 3D array to such as star-shaped, square/box-shaped, circular/spherical (types of transition))
Claim 9:
BORRA et al teach:
A system (1,50) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said first shape is a circle and said second shape is a line (figure 1 and 0049-0051 detail transition such as 2D and 3D array to such as star-shaped, square/box-shaped, circular/spherical, where figure 5 teaches a line of lights).
Claim 10:
BORRA et al teach:
A systemclaim 1, wherein said first light scene and said second light scene define color and/or brightness gradients (0052-0056 detail controller 100 may be configured to change at least one behavior parameter (e.g. speed, direction, lifetime, etc.) and/or at least one appearance parameter (e.g. color, brightness, size, shape, etc.); above teaches the first and second light scenes due to these changes in parameters).
Claim 11:
BORRA et al teach:
A systemclaim 1, wherein said at least one processor(0020 detail user interface for user input for controlling behavior and/or appearance of light sources).
Claim 12:
BORRA et al teach:
A system (1,50) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said second light scene is independent of said first light scene (0020 detail user interface for user input for controlling behavior and/or appearance of light sources, where the user controls the different kinds of light scenes to be display).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 8 is 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. At the time of examination unable to find prior art teaching regarding “….wherein said orientation of said pixelated lighting device
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
HOLZ (US 2014/0369558) SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR MACHINE CONTROL - Inputs can be interpreted from scan(s), image(s) and/or other sensory data in conjunction with providing command information, machine input, commands, communications and/or other user-machine interfacing, gathering information about objects, events and/or actions existing or occurring within an area being explored, monitored, or controlled, and/or combinations thereof. In various embodiments, a scene is scanned with a moving directed emission of light or other electromagnetic radiation (e.g., a light beam "sweeping" the scene), or multiple sequentially activated emissions in generally different directions, in accordance with a scan pattern, in paragraph 0004-0005.
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/TSUNG YIN TSAI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2656
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