DETAILED ACTION
Claims 14-27 are pending. Claims 1-13 are cancelled.
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
Acknowledgement is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d) to Swiss Patent Application No. 000106/2022, filed on 2/7/2022.
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.
Claim(s) 24 is/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 pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
With regard to claim 24, this claim recites ‘the HVAC gateway device according to claim 10’ and is indefinite because antecedent claim 10 has been cancelled..
The dependent claims are also rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 112 as they inherit all of the characteristics of the claim from which they depend and none of the dependent claims provide a cure for the indefiniteness of the parent claims.
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(s) 26 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to a non-statutory subject matter.
Claim 26 is directed to a computer program product comprising instructions, i.e. software. “Software per se” is non-statutory under 35 USC 101 because it is merely a set of instructions. See MPEP 2106.03.
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 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 of this title, 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 set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied 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.
Claim(s) 14-17 and 20-27 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Park et al. U.S. Patent Publication No. 20200167148 (hereinafter Park) in view of Schubert et al. U.S. Patent Publication No. 20180076978 (hereinafter Schubert).
Regarding claim 14, Park teaches a method of communication between a remote computer and a plurality of Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning HVAC devices [0013 — a method of a software gateway of a building implemented on one or more processing circuits; 0047-0048, Fig. 1 — Building 10 is served by a BMS. A BMS is, in general, a system of devices configured to control, monitor, and manage equipment in or around a building or building area. A BMS can include, for example, a HVAC system; 0071, Fig. 3 — controller 226a and 226b are shown to communicate to cloud platform 202 via gateway 206. Controller 226a and 226b may be similar to and/or the same as controllers 226 as described with further reference to FIG. 2. Actuator 224a, sensor 222a, and sensor 222b may be connected to cloud platform 202 via controller 226a and controller 226b respectively. Actuator 224a, sensor 222a, and sensor 222b may be the same and/or similar to actuators 224 and/or sensors 222 as described with further reference to FIG. 2; 0052-0054, Fig. 2 — Cloud platform 202 may be one or more controllers, servers, and/or any other computing device that may be located in building 10 and/or may be located remotely and/or connected to the systems of building 10 via networks (e.g., the Internet)… Smart connected things 204 may include actuators, dampers, chillers, heaters, rooftop units (RTUs), thermostats and air handling units (AHUs)(HVAC), or any other type of equipment or device that can be installed within a building (e.g., fans, pumps, valves, etc.). Sensors 222 can include one or more devices that can be configured to measure various environmental conditions (e.g., light intensity, occupancy, temperature, humidity, air quality, etc.). Actuators 224 can be any device that can be configured to affect an environmental change in building 10 (e.g., maintain a setpoint in building 10, maintain an air quality level in building 10, etc.)], the method comprising:
communicatively connecting the plurality of HVAC devices to a communication bus via a bus communication interface of each respective HVAC device [0054 — Sensors 222, actuators 224, and controllers 226 may not be configured to communicate via an IP based network but may be configured to communicate with each other via a non-IP based network (communication bus /network 304 ); 0070, Fig. 3 — Gateway 206, as described with further reference to FIG. 2, is shown to communicate with both IP network 302 and non-IP network 304. Non-IP network 304 may include networks and/or protocols that are not IP based. For example, non-IP network 304 may be and/or include Zigbee, BACnet, controller area network (CAN) protocol, Modbus, and/or any other non-IP based network and/or protocol — communication interface required for each connected device];
selecting one of the plurality of HVAC devices having a remote communication interface as an HVAC gateway device [0108 — gateway manager 518 selects gateway 502b; 0137 – At E2, representation manager 528 may select first gateway 595 to replace second gateway 594 if at E1, fault manager 526 determines that second gateway 5945 is offline and/or experiencing a fault. In some embodiments, first gateway 595 is selected from a plurality of gateways based on a gateway grade as described elsewhere herein];
communicatively connecting the remote computer to the remote communication interface of the HVAC gateway device [0070-0071, Fig. 3 — Gateway 206, as described with further reference to FIG. 2, is shown to communicate with both IP network 302 and non-IP network 304… controller 226a and 226b are shown to communicate to cloud platform 202 via gateway 206. Controller 226a and 226b may be similar to and/or the same as controllers 226 as described with further reference to FIG. 2; 0078, Fig. 5 — System 500 includes gateways 502a-d that are configured to transmit data collected via non-IP Network 508 from controllers 510a-d, actuators 512a-c, sensors 514a-b, and IP actuator 516 to building server 504 via IP network 506.; 0141, Fig. 6 — Gateway 502a is shown to include processing circuit 602 and network interface 604. Network interface 604 may be any wired or wireless transmitter, receiver, connector, and/or any other network component that enables gateway 502a to communicate via both IP network 506 and non-IP network 508 as described with further reference to FIG. 5. Network interface 604 may allow gateway 502a to communicate with devices connected to non-IP network 508 (e.g., controllers 510a-d, actuators 512a-b, sensors 514a-c, etc.) in addition to communicating with devices connected to IP network 506 (e.g., IP Actuator 516 and building server 504).];
identifying, by the HVAC gateway device, one or more of the plurality of HVAC devices connected to the communication bus via the bus communication interface [0184-0186, Fig. 8 — gateways 502a-d and/or building server 504 can be configured to perform process 800… gateway 502a may be installed in building 10 and connected to devices 11 via non-IP network 508 and connected to building server 504 via IP network 506. Registration controller 620 may register gateway 502a with building server 504 by sending various identifiers of gateway 502a to building server 504. In some embodiments, gateway 502a may configure various drivers for communicating with devices 11 in response to being installed and/or powered on… driver controller 608 can discover devices (e.g., devices 11) that are connected to gateway 502a. In some embodiments, driver controller 608 can “listen” for devices 11, i.e., wait for devices 11 to communicate to gateway 502a and send point data to gateway 502a. In various embodiments, when driver controller 608 identifies devices 11, driver controller 608 can “interrogate” devices 11 for point data by querying and/or requesting point data from devices 11 0057 — Gateway 206 may provide network security, access control, and unique address of legacy devices endpoints for remote access and protocol mediation services];
retrieving, by the HVAC gateway device, one or more device profiles corresponding to the identification data of the one or more identified HVAC devices [0191-0192, Fig. 9 — In process 900, building server 504 selects the first gateway to replace the second unresponsive gateway. The configuration data received by the first gateway may be software necessary for properly communicating with the second set of HVAC devices. For example, the software may be a specific driver for a particular brand of HVAC controllers that the first gateway does not have installed… the first gateway can be configured based on the configuration data and the second subscription list. In some embodiments, the first gateway installs various software add-ons (e.g., drivers) included in the configuration data, the software add-ons necessary for communicating with, controller, and/or receiving data from the second set of HVAC devices. — cf. the instant application/PGPub : ‘the device profiles comprise a device driver’ [0015]]; and
enabling, by the HVAC gateway device using the retrieved one or more device profiles, data communication between the one or more identified HVAC devices and the remote computer [0071, Fig. 3 — controller 226a and 226b are shown to communicate to cloud platform 202 via gateway 206. Controller 226a and 226b may be similar to and/or the same as controllers 226 as described with further reference to FIG. 2; 0168-0171 — Configuration controller 638 can be configured to receive gateway updates (e.g., new drivers)… discover devices (e.g., devices 11) connected to gateway 502a, find all the points of the various devices connected to gateway 502a, retrieve data from the devices… poll a device for data, retrieve a particular data point, retrieve the status of a particular driver or drivers, test the connection between gateway 502a and devices 11, and/or other various commands; 0191-0192, Fig. 9 — In process 900, building server 504 selects the first gateway to replace the second unresponsive gateway. The configuration data received by the first gateway may be software necessary for properly communicating with the second set of HVAC devices. For example, the software may be a specific driver for a particular brand of HVAC controllers that the first gateway does not have installed… the first gateway can be configured based on the configuration data].
But Park fails to clearly specify retrieving respective identification data of the plurality of devices via the bus communication interface.
However, Schubert teaches retrieving respective identification data of the plurality of HVAC devices via the bus communication interface [0095-0098, Fig. 10 — At process block 1002, the virtual network manager 726 is notified that a device has been detected on the non-BMS network 504. In one embodiment, the notification is performed by the external network interface circuit 602. In one example, the notification may be in the form of a data packet sent to the virtual network manager 726. In some embodiments, the indication may include an address and/or device type of the newly discovered device. Once the notification has been provided to the virtual network manager 726, data associated with the new device can be provided to the virtual network manager 726. In one embodiment, the data is provided by the external network interface circuit. The data may contain a unique MAC address associated with the device (identification data); 0081, Fig. 6 — external network interface circuit 602 may interface with the non-BMS network 504 via a non-BMS network communication interface 632; 0070-0072, Fig. 5 — non-BMS network 504 may provide communications between an external network central controller 512, one or more outdoor units 514, a first third party system sub-system 516, and a second third party sub-system 518… the first third-party sub-system 516 and the second third-party sub-system 518 may be other types of sub-systems, such as chiller systems, HVAC system, AHU's… smart gateway 530 is configured to provide an interface between the BMS network 502 and the non-BMS network 504. For example, the smart gateway 530 may convert data transmitted over the non-BMS network 504 into a compatible network protocol, such as BACnet, for use with the BMS network.].
Park and Schubert are analogous art. They relate to HVAC control systems.
Therefore at the time the invention was made, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify the above method, as taught by Park, by incorporating the above limitations, as taught by Schubert.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to do this modification in order to facilitate communicating with the networked devices, e.g. enabling messages to be addressed to a unique device, as suggested by the teachings of Schubert [0095-0098].
Regarding claim 15, the combination of Park and Schubert teaches all the limitations of the base claims as outlined above.
Further, Park teaches the HVAC gateway device retrieving the one or more device profiles from the remote computer and/or the HVAC gateway device receiving the one or more device profiles via a configuration device and/or via a secondary communication interface comprised by and/or communicatively connected to the HVAC gateway device [0227-0232 — Cloud-based web services 1620 is also shown to maintain a collection of drivers 1622, a driver repository. For example, these drivers may be drivers such as BACnet drivers, Modbus drivers, and/or LonWorks drivers. Advantageously, these operations allows software-defined gateway 1610 to retrieve or be pushed drivers without having to maintain a large collection of drivers locally. Software-defined gateway 1610 is shown to include both a software download module 1612 and a software upload module 1614. Software download module 1612 can be configured to retrieve data from cloud-based web services 1620 such as drivers 1622; 0052-0054, Fig. 2 — Cloud platform 202 may be one or more controllers, servers, and/or any other computing device that may be located in building 10 and/or may be located remotely and/or connected to the systems of building 10 via networks (e.g., the Internet)].
Regarding claim 16, the combination of Park and Schubert teaches all the limitations of the base claims as outlined above.
Further, Park teaches identifying, by the HVAC gateway device, an HVAC device to be replaced and a replacement HVAC device; and retrieving, by the HVAC gateway device, data from the HVAC device to be replaced and transmitting the retrieved data to the replacement HVAC device; and/or updating, by the HVAC gateway device, parameters of the device profile of the replacement HVAC device using parameters of the device profile of the HVAC device to be replaced [0134-0140, Fig. 5 — In FIG. 5E, second gateway 594 is shown to be connected to HVAC devices 607 via non-IP network 508 while first gateway 595 is shown to be connected to HVAC devices 609 via non-IP network 508. Second gateway 594 may be gateway 502b while HVAC devices 607 may be and/or include controller 510b, actuator 512a, and sensor 514a. First gateway 595 may be gateway 502a and HVAC devices 609 may be and/or include controller 510a and actuator 512b… At El, fault manager 526 determines that second gateway 594 is offline and/or experiencing a fault… At E2, representation manager 528 may select first gateway 595 to replace second gateway 594 if at E1, fault manager 526 determines that second gateway 5945 is offline and/or experiencing a fault. In some embodiments, first gateway 595 is selected from a plurality of gateways based on a gateway grade as described elsewhere herein… 8] At E2, representation manager 528 may update first gateway cloud shadow 600 with configuration data from second gateway cloud shadow 599. At E2, representation manger 528 can increment a revision number and generate a new hash based on an updated configuration].
Regarding claim 17, the combination of Park and Schubert teaches all the limitations of the base claims as outlined above.
Further, Park teaches the one or more device profiles comprise device-specific processing data corresponding to the one or more identified HVAC devices identified by the identification data; and wherein enabling the data communication comprises: processing operational data received from the one or more identified HVAC devices using the device-specific processing data and forwarding the processed data to the remote computer and/or processing setpoint data received from the remote computer using the device-specific processing data and forwarding the processed data to the respective HVAC device [0071, Fig. 3 — controller 226a and 226b are shown to communicate to cloud platform 202 via gateway 206. Controller 226a and 226b may be similar to and/or the same as controllers 226 as described with further reference to FIG. 2; 0168-0171 — Configuration controller 638 can be configured to receive gateway updates (e.g., new drivers)… discover devices (e.g., devices 11) connected to gateway 502a, find all the points of the various devices connected to gateway 502a, retrieve data from the devices… poll a device for data, retrieve a particular data point, retrieve the status of a particular driver or drivers, test the connection between gateway 502a and devices 11, and/or other various commands; 0191-0192, Fig. 9 — In process 900, building server 504 selects the first gateway to replace the second unresponsive gateway. The configuration data received by the first gateway may be software necessary for properly communicating with the second set of HVAC devices. For example, the software may be a specific driver for a particular brand of HVAC controllers that the first gateway does not have installed… the first gateway can be configured based on the configuration data; 0159 — data controller 636 can be configured to convert data points that it collects into a format such as a time-series data format. The time-series data can be stored in collected data 645 and/or can be sent to building server 504.; 0172-0174 — data collected by gateway controller 616 is translated from a first format to a second format by resource translator 642… Resource translator 642 may enable data received by gateway controller 616 that originates from a legacy piece of equipment to be translated to a new and/or a current data format.].
Regarding claim 20, the combination of Park and Schubert teaches all the limitations of the base claims as outlined above.
Further, Park teaches the operational data comprises sensor values measured by one or more sensors of the respective HVAC devices [0054 — Controllers 226 can be configured to operate actuators 224 and/or collect data from sensors 222. In this regard, controllers 226 can be configured to collect data from sensors 222 and control actuators 224 based on the data received from sensors 222.; 0060 — message handler 240 can be configured to send and receive data indirectly from sensors 222, actuators 224, and/or controllers 226 via gateway 206; 0067 — Time series data analysis may be, for example, temperatures of a zone collected by sensors of building 10 e.g., sensors 22.; 0078 — System 500 includes gateways 502a-d that are configured to transmit data collected via non-IP Network 508 from controllers 510a-d, actuators 512a-c, sensors 514a-b, and IP actuator 516 to building server 504 via IP network 506].
Regarding claim 21, the combination of Park and Schubert teaches all the limitations of the base claims as outlined above.
Further, Park teaches the setpoint data comprises actuator values, and wherein the method further comprises: actuating, by one or more actuators of the respective HVAC devices, one or more mechanically connected actuated parts in accordance with the actuator values as processed and forwarded by the HVAC gateway device [0051-0053, Fig. 2 — VAV units 116 can include dampers (mechanical) or other flow control elements… Actuators 224 can be any device that can be configured to affect an environmental change in building 10 (e.g., maintain a setpoint in building 10, maintain an air quality level in building 10, etc.).; 0074 — actuator device 406 may be an electric motor that IP device 400 can use to control a valve; 0175 — point list 627 may indicate that gateway controller 616 should send a zone setpoint received from building server 504 to devices 11; 0193 — The first gateway can send the collected data for the first and seconds sets of HVAC devices to building server 504. In some embodiments, building server 504 sends instructions and/or commands for the first and/or second sets of HVAC devices. The first gateway can send the instructions and/or commands to the appropriate HVAC devices.].
Regarding claim 22, the combination of Park and Schubert teaches all the limitations of the base claims as outlined above.
Further, Park teaches enabling the data communication comprises: forwarding data to and/or from the remote communication interface of the HVAC gateway device and a respective bus interface of the one or more identified HVAC devices via the bus communication interface [0071, Fig. 3 — controller 226a and 226b are shown to communicate to cloud platform 202 via gateway 206. Controller 226a and 226b may be similar to and/or the same as controllers 226 as described with further reference to FIG. 2; 0168-0171 — Configuration controller 638 can be configured to receive gateway updates (e.g., new drivers)… discover devices (e.g., devices 11) connected to gateway 502a, find all the points of the various devices connected to gateway 502a, retrieve data from the devices… poll a device for data, retrieve a particular data point, retrieve the status of a particular driver or drivers, test the connection between gateway 502a and devices 11, and/or other various commands; 0191-0192, Fig. 9 — In process 900, building server 504 selects the first gateway to replace the second unresponsive gateway. The configuration data received by the first gateway may be software necessary for properly communicating with the second set of HVAC devices. For example, the software may be a specific driver for a particular brand of HVAC controllers that the first gateway does not have installed… the first gateway can be configured based on the configuration data; 0159 — data controller 636 can be configured to convert data points that it collects into a format such as a time-series data format. The time-series data can be stored in collected data 645 and/or can be sent to building server 504.; 0172-0174 — data collected by gateway controller 616 is translated from a first format to a second format by resource translator 642… Resource translator 642 may enable data received by gateway controller 616 that originates from a legacy piece of equipment to be translated to a new and/or a current data format].
Further, Schubert teaches the one or more device profiles comprise addressing information related to one or more identified HVAC devices identified by the identification data [0095-0098, Fig. 10 — At process block 1002, the virtual network manager 726 is notified that a device has been detected on the non-BMS network 504. In one embodiment, the notification is performed by the external network interface circuit 602. In one example, the notification may be in the form of a data packet sent to the virtual network manager 726. In some embodiments, the indication may include an address and/or device type of the newly discovered device. Once the notification has been provided to the virtual network manager 726, data associated with the new device can be provided to the virtual network manager 726. In one embodiment, the data is provided by the external network interface circuit. The data may contain a unique MAC address associated with the device (identification data); 0081, Fig. 6 — external network interface circuit 602 may interface with the non-BMS network 504 via a non-BMS network communication interface 632; 0070-0072, Fig. 5 — non-BMS network 504 may provide communications between an external network central controller 512, one or more outdoor units 514, a first third party system sub-system 516, and a second third party sub-system 518… the first third-party sub-system 516 and the second third-party sub-system 518 may be other types of sub-systems, such as chiller systems, HVAC system, AHU's… smart gateway 530 is configured to provide an interface between the BMS network 502 and the non-BMS network 504. For example, the smart gateway 530 may convert data transmitted over the non-BMS network 504 into a compatible network protocol, such as BACnet, for use with the BMS network.].
Therefore at the time the invention was made, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify the above method, as taught by Park, by incorporating the above limitations, as taught by Schubert.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to do this modification in order to facilitate communicating with the networked devices, e.g. enabling messages to be addressed to a unique device, as suggested by the teachings of Schubert [0095-0098].
Regarding claim 23, the combination of Park and Schubert teaches all the limitations of the base claims as outlined above.
Further, Park teaches an HVAC gateway device [0070-0071, Fig. 3 — Gateway 206… controller 226a and 226b are shown to communicate to cloud platform 202 via gateway 206] comprising:
a bus communication interface for communicatively connecting to a communication bus [0054 — Sensors 222, actuators 224, and controllers 226 may not be configured to communicate via an IP based network but may be configured to communicate with each other via a non-IP based network (communication bus /network 304 ); 0070, Fig. 3 — Gateway 206, as described with further reference to FIG. 2, is shown to communicate with both IP network 302 and non-IP network 304. Non-IP network 304 may include networks and/or protocols that are not IP based. For example, non-IP network 304 may be and/or include Zigbee, BACnet, controller area network (CAN) protocol, Modbus, and/or any other non-IP based network and/or protocol — communication interface required for each connected device];
a remote communication interface for communicatively connecting to a remote computer [0070-0071, Fig. 3 — Gateway 206, as described with further reference to FIG. 2, is shown to communicate with both IP network 302 and non-IP network 304… controller 226a and 226b are shown to communicate to cloud platform 202 via gateway 206. Controller 226a and 226b may be similar to and/or the same as controllers 226 as described with further reference to FIG. 2; 0078, Fig. 5 — System 500 includes gateways 502a-d that are configured to transmit data collected via non-IP Network 508 from controllers 510a-d, actuators 512a-c, sensors 514a-b, and IP actuator 516 to building server 504 via IP network 506.; 0141, Fig. 6 — Gateway 502a is shown to include processing circuit 602 and network interface 604. Network interface 604 may be any wired or wireless transmitter, receiver, connector, and/or any other network component that enables gateway 502a to communicate via both IP network 506 and non-IP network 508 as described with further reference to FIG. 5. Network interface 604 may allow gateway 502a to communicate with devices connected to non-IP network 508 (e.g., controllers 510a-d, actuators 512a-b, sensors 514a-c, etc.) in addition to communicating with devices connected to IP network 506 (e.g., IP Actuator 516 and building server 504)]; and
a processor, wherein the processor is configured to control the HVAC gateway device to carry out the method according to claim 14 [0142, Fig. 6 — Processing circuit 602 is shown to include processor 604 and memory 606. Processor 604 can be a general purpose or specific purpose processor].
Regarding claim 24, the combination of Park and Schubert teaches all the limitations of the base claims as outlined above.
Further, Park teaches one or more actuators for actuating one or more mechanically connected actuated parts and/or one or more sensors configured to measure a parameter of an HVAC system [0078, Fig. 5 — System 500 includes gateways 502a-d that are configured to transmit data collected via non-IP Network 508 from controllers 510a-d, actuators 512a-c, sensors 514a-b, and IP actuator 516 to building server 504 via IP network 506.; 0005 —the building equipment include at least one of building controllers, building sensor devices, or building actuator devices.].
Regarding claim 25, the combination of Park and Schubert teaches all the limitations of the base claims as outlined above.
Further, Park teaches an HVAC system comprising:
the HVAC gateway device according to claim 23 [0070-0071, Fig. 3 — Gateway 206… controller 226a and 226b are shown to communicate to cloud platform 202 via gateway 206];
one or more HVAC devices comprising one or more actuators for actuating one or more mechanically connected actuated parts and/or one or more sensors, wherein the HVAC gateway device and the one or more HVAC devices are communicatively connected by a communication bus via respective bus communication interfaces, and wherein the HVAC gateway device is communicatively connected to a remote computer using a remote communication interface [0078, Fig. 5 — System 500 includes gateways 502a-d that are configured to transmit data collected via non-IP Network 508 from controllers 510a-d, actuators 512a-c, sensors 514a-b, and IP actuator 516 to building server 504 via IP network 506; 0054-0055 —sensors 222, actuators 224, and controllers 226 may not be able to communicate directly with cloud platform 202 since the device are not Internet enabled but must communicate with cloud platform 202 via gateway 206.; 0071-0075, Figs. 3-4 — Actuator 224a, sensor 222a, and sensor 222b may be connected to cloud platform 202 via controller 226a and controller 226; 0088, Fig. 5 — gateways 502a-d are all connected to one another via non-IP network 508. In this regard, the data received by gateway 502a may also be accessible by gateway 502d. This may allow gateway 502a to receive data from IP actuator 516 and push the data to building server 504].
Regarding claim 26, the combination of Park and Schubert teaches all the limitations of the base claims as outlined above.
Further, Park teaches a computer program product comprising instructions, which when executed by a processor of an HVAC gateway device comprising a bus communication interface and a remote communication interface, cause the HVAC gateway device to carry out the method according to claim 14 [0022, 0235 — methods, systems and program products on any machine-readable media for accomplishing various operations… program products comprising machine-readable media for carrying or having machine-executable instructions or data structures stored thereon.; 0142 — Processor 604 may be configured to execute computer code and/or instructions stored in memory 606 or received from other computer readable media (e.g., CDROM, network storage, a remote server, etc.)].
Regarding claim 27, the combination of Park and Schubert teaches all the limitations of the base claims as outlined above.
Further, Park teaches a non-transitory computer-readable data storage comprising a computer program product which, when executed by a processor of an HVAC gateway device comprising a bus communication interface and a remote communication interface, cause the processor to carry out the method according to claim 14 [0022, 0235 — methods, systems and program products on any machine-readable media for accomplishing various operations… program products comprising machine-readable media for carrying or having machine-executable instructions or data structures stored thereon… , such machine-readable media can comprise RAM, ROM, EPROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM; 0142 — Processor 604 may be configured to execute computer code and/or instructions stored in memory 606 or received from other computer readable media (e.g., CDROM, network storage, a remote server, etc.)].
Claim(s) 18 and 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over the combination of Park and Schubert in view of Apsangi U.S. Patent Publication No. 20200256577 (hereinafter Apsangi).
Regarding claim 18, the combination of Park and Schubert teaches all the limitations of the base claims as outlined above.
Further, Park teaches the device-specific processing data comprises processing specific to the one or more identified HVAC devices identified by the identification data, and wherein the processing comprises: applying the processing to operational data received from the one or more identified HVAC devices and/or applying the calibration data to the setpoint data received from the remote computer [0071, Fig. 3 — controller 226a and 226b are shown to communicate to cloud platform 202 via gateway 206. Controller 226a and 226b may be similar to and/or the same as controllers 226 as described with further reference to FIG. 2; 0168-0171 — Configuration controller 638 can be configured to receive gateway updates (e.g., new drivers)… discover devices (e.g., devices 11) connected to gateway 502a, find all the points of the various devices connected to gateway 502a, retrieve data from the devices… poll a device for data, retrieve a particular data point, retrieve the status of a particular driver or drivers, test the connection between gateway 502a and devices 11, and/or other various commands; 0191-0192, Fig. 9 — In process 900, building server 504 selects the first gateway to replace the second unresponsive gateway. The configuration data received by the first gateway may be software necessary for properly communicating with the second set of HVAC devices. For example, the software may be a specific driver for a particular brand of HVAC controllers that the first gateway does not have installed… the first gateway can be configured based on the configuration data; 0159 — data controller 636 can be configured to convert data points that it collects into a format such as a time-series data format. The time-series data can be stored in collected data 645 and/or can be sent to building server 504.; 0172-0174 — data collected by gateway controller 616 is translated from a first format to a second format by resource translator 642… Resource translator 642 may enable data received by gateway controller 616 that originates from a legacy piece of equipment to be translated to a new and/or a current data format.].
But the combination of Park and Schubert fails to clearly specify the device-specific processing data comprises calibration data specific to the one or more devices, and wherein the processing comprises: applying the calibration data to operational data received from the one or more devices and/or applying the calibration data to the setpoint data received from the remote computer.
However, Apsangi teaches the device-specific processing data comprises calibration data specific to the one or more devices, and wherein the processing comprises: applying the calibration data to operational data received from the one or more devices and/or applying the calibration data to the setpoint data received from the remote computer [0032 —Predictive HVAC controlling unit 38 is configured to receive refrigerant, air, and system characteristics data from sensor array 10, convert analog signals of the refrigerant and air characteristics data to digital signals, amplify the digital signals, calibrate data, process the digital signals by calculating key system parameters; 0041-0044 — Sensor data is received in analog with a measurement range of 0 to 100 millivolts. At 525, predictive HVAC controlling unit 38 converts, amplifies, and calibrates an analog measurement to digital signal… In certain embodiments, a pre-determined calibration ratio is used to calibrate the digital temperature signal. In certain embodiments, the pre-determined calibration ratio may be a ratio of a calibration reference temperature over a calibration digital temperature signal.].
Park, Schubert and Apsangi are analogous art. They relate to HVAC control systems.
Therefore at the time the invention was made, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify the above method, as taught by the combination of Park and Schubert, by incorporating the above limitations, as taught by Apsangi.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to do this modification in order to convert measurements into meaningful sensor readings, e.g. a temperature in degrees that has an understandable meaning, as suggested by the teachings of Apsangi [0041-0044]. In addition, it would be obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art to apply calibration factors to sensor data in order to compare sensor data from sensors that may not have identical sensitivities.
Regarding claim 19, the combination of Park and Schubert teaches all the limitations of the base claims as outlined above.
Further, Park teaches the device-specific processing data comprises conversion processing including conversion processing, and wherein the processing comprises applying the conversion processing to the operational data received from the one or more identified HVAC devices [0071, Fig. 3 — controller 226a and 226b are shown to communicate to cloud platform 202 via gateway 206. Controller 226a and 226b may be similar to and/or the same as controllers 226 as described with further reference to FIG. 2; 0168-0171 — Configuration controller 638 can be configured to receive gateway updates (e.g., new drivers)… discover devices (e.g., devices 11) connected to gateway 502a, find all the points of the various devices connected to gateway 502a, retrieve data from the devices… poll a device for data, retrieve a particular data point, retrieve the status of a particular driver or drivers, test the connection between gateway 502a and devices 11, and/or other various commands; 0191-0192, Fig. 9 — In process 900, building server 504 selects the first gateway to replace the second unresponsive gateway. The configuration data received by the first gateway may be software necessary for properly communicating with the second set of HVAC devices. For example, the software may be a specific driver for a particular brand of HVAC controllers that the first gateway does not have installed… the first gateway can be configured based on the configuration data; 0159 — data controller 636 can be configured to convert data points that it collects into a format such as a time-series data format. The time-series data can be stored in collected data 645 and/or can be sent to building server 504.; 0172-0174 — data collected by gateway controller 616 is translated from a first format to a second format by resource translator 642… Resource translator 642 may enable data received by gateway controller 616 that originates from a legacy piece of equipment to be translated to a new and/or a current data format.].
But the combination of Park and Schubert fails to clearly specify that processing data comprises conversion data including conversion parameters and/or conversion formulae, and wherein the processing comprises applying the conversion parameters and/or conversion formulae to the operational data.
However, Apsangi teaches that processing data comprises conversion data including conversion parameters and/or conversion formulae, and wherein the processing comprises applying the conversion parameters and/or conversion formulae to the operational data [0032 —Predictive HVAC controlling unit 38 is configured to receive refrigerant, air, and system characteristics data from sensor array 10, convert analog signals of the refrigerant and air characteristics data to digital signals, amplify the digital signals, calibrate data, process the digital signals by calculating key system parameters; 0041-0044 — Sensor data is received in analog with a measurement range of 0 to 100 millivolts. At 525, predictive HVAC controlling unit 38 converts, amplifies, and calibrates an analog measurement to digital signal… In certain embodiments, a pre-determined calibration ratio (conversion parameter) is used to calibrate the digital temperature signal. In certain embodiments, the pre-determined calibration ratio may be a ratio of a calibration reference temperature over a calibration digital temperature signal.].
Park, Schubert and Apsangi are analogous art. They relate to HVAC control systems.
Therefore at the time the invention was made, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify the above method, as taught by the combination of Park and Schubert, by incorporating the above limitations, as taught by Apsangi.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to do this modification in order to convert measurements into meaningful sensor readings in a precise and reproducible manner using a well-defined numerical parameter, as suggested by the teachings of Apsangi [0041-0044]. In addition, it would be obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art to simply substitute the known conversion parameter process of Apsangi for the known generic conversion process of Park for the predictable result of a method of communication utilizing a conversion parameter.
Citation of Pertinent Prior Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Noboa U.S. Patent Publication No. 20180224819 discloses a building management system with automatic commissioning and configuration.
Note that any citations to specific, pages, columns, lines, or figures in the prior art references and any interpretation of the reference should not be considered to be limiting in any way. A reference is relevant for all it contains and may be relied upon for all that it would have reasonably suggested to one having ordinary skill in the art. See MPEP 2123.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BERNARD G. LINDSAY whose telephone number is (571)270-0665. The examiner can normally be reached Monday through Friday from 8:30 AM to 5:30 PM EST.
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/BERNARD G LINDSAY/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2119
Prosecution Insights