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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 14 May 2024 and 23 September 2024 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statements are being considered by the examiner.
Specification
The title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed.
Claim Objections
Claims 4-7, 10, and 15 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 4: “the indicator lights” in line 2 should be “the plurality of separate indicator lights” for further clarity and continuity in the claim language.
Claim 5: “the indicator lights” in line 2 should be “the plurality of separate indicator lights” for further clarity and continuity in the claim language.
Claim 6: “the plurality of indicator lights” in line 2 should be “the plurality of separate indicator lights” for further clarity and continuity in the claim language.
Claim 7: “the plurality of indicator lights” in line 2 should be “the plurality of separate indicator lights” for further clarity and continuity in the claim language.
Claim 10: “the plurality of indicator lights” in line 2 should be “the plurality of separate indicator lights” for further clarity and continuity in the claim language.
Claim 15: “the indicator lights” in line 4 should be “the plurality of separate indicator lights” for further clarity and continuity in the claim language.
Appropriate correction is required.
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 15-17 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.
Regarding claim 15, “the location” in line 5 and “the field of view” in line 5 both lack proper antecedent basis and are therefore unclear. “a recognised object” in line 11 is unclear as this limitation has been mentioned previously. Is this limitation referring to the same object mentioned previously or a different object? In light of the specification, the Examiner is interpreting this limitation to be referring to the same object mentioned previously.
Claims 16-17 are rejected for their dependency on claim 15.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-14 and 18-20 are allowed.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance:
Regarding claim 1, the prior art of record individually or combined fails to teach a sensor module for a modular toy construction set as claimed, the sensor module comprising: one or more optical sensors, each optical sensor having a field of view; a side defining one or more apertures positioned with respect to the one or more optical sensors so that light passing through the one or more apertures is received by the one or more optical sensors; and a plurality of separate indicator lights coupled to the side, more specifically in combination with wherein the indicator lights are configured to light up in an illumination pattern in response to a determination of a location of a recognised object within the field of view of at least one of the one or more optical sensors.
Claims 2-14 are allowed for their dependency on claim 1.
Regarding claim 18, the prior art of record individually or combined fails to teach a sensor module for a modular toy construction set as claimed, the sensor module comprising: a housing having a front side, wherein the front side defines an aperture; a sensor having a field of view aligned with the aperture so that an object in the field of view generates a reading by the sensor; and more specifically in combination with at least two separate indicator lights coupled to the side and configured to light up in an illumination pattern based upon the reading to indicate location of the object.
Claims 19-20 are allowed for their dependency on claim 18.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Thompson (U.S. 9137878 B2): Thompson teaches a dynamic lighting system that detects and then categorizes activities performed in the field of view and adjusts lights accordingly.
Aman et al. (USPGPub 20190009168 A1): Aman teaches a mirror-display that tracks an object in a field of view using an object tracking system 24a and then displays where the tracked object is on the screen.
Ophardt et al. (USPGPub 20170215655 A1): Ophardt teaches an interactive display that sensing the position of an object (46) and then displays that position on the electronic display 72 as a movable indicator 76.
Aliakseyeu et al. (USPGPub 20160323969 A1); Aliakseyeu teaches a controllable lighting device that uses one or more sensors to determine characteristics of toys within a field of view, and adjusting the lighting based on those characteristics.
Bojesen et al. (U.S. Patent No. 6547624 B1): Bojesen teaches a toy building set having building elements that can contain a camera and record images.
Khabrani (USPGPub 20210278905 A1): Khabrani teaches a depth sensing device that has a tracking device 10 that captures an image of an object (in this case a user’s hand) and displays an image on a display screen corresponding to the sensed object.
Donaldson et al. (USPGPub 20210197096 A1): Donaldson teaches a modular toy construction system comprising a sensor and emitter (in this case a microphone and a loudspeaker) located in the block/brick.
Karunaratne (USPGPub 20190105579 A1): Karunaratne teaches toy building pieces that can contain light detectors, cameras, and/or light emitters.
Shin (USPGPub 20180193998 A1): Shin teaches a modular robotic system having a plurality of blocks that can be attached to one another. These blocks can consist of light emitters and/or sensors.
Hansen et al. (USPGPub 20100311300 A1): Hansen teaches a toy construction system the comprises building blocks. One block specifically comprises both a light emitter and a light detector (414).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ERIN R GARBER whose telephone number is (571)272-4663. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 0730-1730.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Georgia Y Epps can be reached at (571)272-2328. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ERIN R GARBER/Examiner, Art Unit 2878