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 statement (IDS) submitted on 07/05/2024 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.
In claim 14, a “computer program product” is being recited; however, a computer program would reasonably be interpreted by one of ordinary skill in the art as software per se. This subject matter is not limited to that which falls within a statutory category of invention (i.e. it is not a process, machine, manufacture, or a composition of matter). Software is functional descriptive material and functional descriptive material is non-statutory subject matter.
Computer programs claimed as computer per se, i.e., the description or expressions of the programs, are not physical “things.” They are neither computer components nor statutory processes., as they are not “acts” being performed. Such claimed computer programs do not define any structural and functional interrelationships between the computer program and other claimed elements of a computer which permit the computer program’s functionality to be realized. In contrast, a claimed computer-readable medium encoded with a computer program is a computer element which defines structural and functional interrelationships between the computer program and the rest of the computer which permit the computer program’s functionality to be realized, and is thus statutory. See Lowry, 32 F.3d at 1583-842 32 USPQ2d at 1035.
Thus, the claim is interpreted to be software per se, and is rejected as being non-statutory subject matter.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 14 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 101, set forth in this Office action.
Claims 1-13 are allowed.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance:
Regarding claim 1, following prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Mishra et al. (Pub.No.: US 20150130282 A1) discloses a method of power sharing (FIG. 1, power isolator switch 13) between at least two lighting devices located in an outdoor environment (paragraph [0025], “A control switch (not shown) may be used to switch the dependable lamp ON or OFF. The presence of the AC power (i.e., grid main power) is monitored by a power monitoring unit 12. In absence of the AC power, the power monitoring unit 12 sends a signal to power isolator switch 13 to disconnect local distribution from the AC mains 11. In absence of the AC power, all the dependable lamps 10 in the network 100 switch to form DC network for DATA/power transfer. When the AC power is restored, the power monitoring unit 12 sends another signal to all the dependable lamps 10 to switch to the AC power”), wherein each of the at least two lighting devices comprises an energy storage element (A DC battery unit 14) arranged for providing power to the respective at least two lighting devices (FIG. 1, lighting units 19); and wherein the at least two lighting devices are connected to each other via an electric conductor (FIG. 1, AC/DC/Data transmission lines); wherein the method comprises determining a state of charge, SoC, and/or voltage of the energy storage elements of the at least two lighting devices (paragraph [0014], “The network 100 is disconnected from the AC mains 11 through the power isolator switch 13 and each of the dependable lamps 10 is be powered by a charge management/battery unit 14. It is noted that the charge management/battery unit 14 may be two separate components”).
Bongartz et al. (Pub. No.: US 20200184153 A1) discloses the energy storage elements of at least two lighting devices are powered via a solar power source (paragraph [1488], “a solar panel or photovoltaic cells may be attached to the upper side of the reflector. Together with the reflector, the solar panel or the photovoltaic cells can help to shade the agricultural light fixture against heat from the sun in a greenhouse and at the same time generate additional energy to supply e.g. the agricultural light fixture”).
The prior art fails to teach or reasonably suggest a method comprising “a first lighting device of the at least two lighting devices to operate in an up-stream mode if the SoC and/or voltage of the respective energy storage element exceeds a threshold, and controlling a second lighting device of the at least two lighting devices to operate in a down-stream mode if the SoC and/or voltage of the respective energy storage element does not exceed the threshold, wherein the second lighting device is arranged for communicating the operating mode to at least one lighting device of the at least two lighting devices, inferring an occupancy pattern in proximity of each of the at least two lighting devices based on historical occupancy data; and if the first lighting device have been detected to be operating in an up-stream mode, sharing power, via the electric conductor, from the first lighting device to the second lighting device based on the inferred occupancy”, in combination with the other limitations of the claim.
Dependent claims 2-13 are allowed by virtue of its dependency.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SYED M KAISER whose telephone number is (571)272-9612. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9 a.m.-6 p.m..
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Abdullah Riyami can be reached at 571-270-3119. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/SYED M KAISER/Examiner, Art Unit 2831 /ABDULLAH A RIYAMI/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2831