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 .
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 18 is 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.
Claim 18 recites the limitation "the electrical equipment" in line 3. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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 the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-4, 8, 12, 14-16, and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Saito et al. (WO 2013/118257 A1) - see English language translation provided.
With respect to claim 1, Saito et al. disclose a piece of equipment (100) comprising a housing (2 - terminal cover & 10 - transparent cover & 1B - terminal unit) in which the following are incorporated: an emitter (6) arranged to emit light signals; a receiver (7) arranged to receive the light signals after they have been reflected against an inner wall (2) of the housing; a processing unit (Fig. 5 - 26) arranged to: control the emitter so that it emits a detection light signal; acquire a first electrical signal (via infrared communication control unit - Fig. 5 - 29) produced by the receiver when it receives the detection light signal; detect, on the basis of a first level of the first electrical signal, whether the housing is open or closed (the box is closed if the level of the first signal is at least equal to the minimum level expected when the box is closed upon receiving the infrared light signal emitted by the emitter), the processing unit being further arranged to: acquire a second electrical signal produced by the receiver while the emitter is switched off (a reading is taken at any time to acquire a second electrical signal produced by the receiver while the transmitter is off); detect the opening or closing of the housing on the basis of a value representative of a difference or a ratio between the first level of the first electrical signal and a second level of the second electrical signal (the regular emissions of the detection light signal to verify its correct reception after reflection are alternated with periods of non-emission, the value of the first signal when the transmitter is transmitting is thus implicitly compared to the value of the signal when the transmitter is not transmitting) (see entire document).
With respect to claim 2, Saito et al. disclose wherein the housing comprises a first housing part (2 - terminal cover), which is removable, the inner wall being a wall of the first housing part, and wherein the emitter (6) and the receiver (7) are both positioned: opposite and in the vicinity of the first housing part; or opposite and in the vicinity of a second housing part (10 - transparent cover) of the housing, which is transparent or translucent to light signals, and positioned between the first housing part, and the emitter and the receiver.
With respect to claim 3, Saito et al. disclose a first optical guide (8a - light guide lens) positioned between the emitter (6) and the inner wall (2), and arranged to guide and concentrate the light signals towards the inner wall; a second optical guide (8b - light guide lens) positioned between the receiver (7) and the inner wall (2), and arranged to guide and concentrate the light signals towards the receiver.
With respect to claim 4, Saito et al. disclose wherein the first optical guide and the second optical guide are manufactured as a single part (“The cover 10 is made of a transparent resin molded product, and the light guide lenses 8a and 8b are formed integrally with the cover 10.”).
With respect to claim 8, Saito et al. disclose wherein the inner wall (Fig. 3 - 2) has the shape of a concave reflector.
With respect to claim 12, Saito et al. disclose wherein the emitter and the receiver are arranged to respectively emit and receive light signals that are non-visible signals (“A reflective member is provided that reflects infrared rays transmitted from the infrared transmitting element and inputs the infrared rays to the infrared receiving element when the terminal cover is closed.”).
With respect to claims 14-15, Saito et al. disclose a detection method, implemented in the processing unit of the piece of equipment according to claim 1, and comprising a detection phase comprising the steps of: controlling the emitter (6) so that it emits a detection light signal; acquiring a first electrical signal (via infrared communication control unit - Fig. 5 - 29) produced by the receiver (7) when it receives the detection light signal; detecting, on the basis of a first level of the first electrical signal, whether the housing is open or closed (the box is closed if the level of the first signal is at least equal to the minimum level expected when the box is closed upon receiving the infrared light signal emitted by the emitter); wherein the detection phase further comprises the steps of: acquiring a second electrical signal produced by the receiver while the emitter is deactivated (a reading is taken at any time to acquire a second electrical signal produced by the receiver while the transmitter is off); detecting the opening or closing of the housing on the basis of a value representative of a difference or a ratio between the first level of the first electrical signal and a second level of the second electrical signal (the regular emissions of the detection light signal to verify its correct reception after reflection are alternated with periods of non-emission, the value of the first signal when the transmitter is transmitting is thus implicitly compared to the value of the signal when the transmitter is not transmitting) (see entire document).
With respect to claim 16, Saito et al. disclose repeating the detection phase; when a detection phase is complete, defining a random time period, and starting a subsequent detection phase after the random time period (“The CPU 26 transmits detection data from the infrared communication control unit 29 via the infrared transmission element 6 (step S11), and determines whether the detection data can be received from the infrared reception element 7 via the infrared communication control unit 29. Judgment is made (step S12). If it can be received, the counter N is reset (step S13), and a waiting process for a predetermined time until the next detection data transmission (step S11) is performed (step S13). On the other hand, if the detection data cannot be received in step S12, the process proceeds to step S15, where the counter N is incremented, and it is then determined whether the counter N exceeds the first predetermined number ( Step S16). If the counter N does not exceed the first predetermined number, the process proceeds to step S14 to perform a waiting process for a predetermined time until the next detection data transmission (step S11) (step S13). If the counter N exceeds the first predetermined number, the terminal cover 2 performs removal detection processing (step S17). Next, proceeding to step S18, it is determined whether or not communication data from an external setting device, which is the original purpose of infrared communication, has been received. If communication data is received from the setting device, it is not an unauthorized removal of the terminal cover, so the processing ends. If communication data from the setting device has not been received, the process proceeds to step S19, where it is determined whether the counter M has exceeded the second predetermined number. If the counter M does not exceed the second predetermined number, the process proceeds to step S20, an integration process for counting up the counter M is performed, and the process returns to the process for determining the received data from the setter in step S18.”).
With respect to claim 18, Saito et al. disclose a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium on which a computer program is stored, wherein the computer program comprises instructions that cause the processing unit (26) of the electrical equipment according to claim 1 to perform a detection method, implemented in the processing unit of the piece of equipment, and comprising a detection phase comprising the steps of: controlling the emitter so that it emits a detection light signal; acquiring a first electrical signal produced by the receiver when it receives the detection light signal; detecting, on the basis of a first level of the first electrical signal, whether the housing is open or closed (see entire document).
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 7, 9-11, and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Saito et al. (WO 2013/118257 A1) - see English language translation provided - as applied to claim 1 above.
With respect to claim 7, Saito et al. do not specifically disclose wherein the inner wall is made from injection-moulded plastic with a mirror finish. Saito et al. are silent as to the composition of the inner wall. As to the inside of the inner wall, Saito et al. disclose - “A reflective member is provided that reflects infrared rays transmitted from the infrared transmitting element and inputs the infrared rays to the infrared receiving element when the terminal cover is closed.” It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to modify Saito et al. to have the inner wall be made from injection-moulded plastic with a mirror finish, as a matter of design choice, to enhance collecting the rays.
With respect to claim 9, Saito et al. disclose a reflective material on the inner wall. Saito et al. disclose - “A reflective member is provided that reflects infrared rays transmitted from the infrared transmitting element and inputs the infrared rays to the infrared receiving element when the terminal cover is closed.” Saito et al. do not specifically disclose the reflective material is chemically deposited on the inner wall. However, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to modify Saito et al. to have the reflective material chemically deposited on the inner wall, as a matter of application design choice.
With respect to claim 10, Saito et al. disclose a reflective member on the inner wall. Saito et al. disclose - “A reflective member is provided that reflects infrared rays transmitted from the infrared transmitting element and inputs the infrared rays to the infrared receiving element when the terminal cover is closed.” Saito et al. do not specifically disclose a self-adhesive reflective label stuck to the inner wall. However, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to modify Saito et al. to have the reflective member comprise a self-adhesive reflective label stuck to the inner wall, as a matter of application design choice.
With respect to claim 11, Saito et al. do not specifically disclose wherein the colour of the inner wall has a wavelength λ1 such that: λ1 = λ2 ± 10%, where λ2 is a wavelength of the light signals. However, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to modify Saito et al. to have the colour of the inner wall have a wavelength λ1 such that: λ1 = λ2 ± 10%, where λ2 is a wavelength of the light signals, as a matter of design choice, since it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or working ranges involves only routine skill in the art. In re Aller, 105 USPQ 233.
With respect to claim 13, Saito et al. do not specifically disclose wherein the equipment is a fluid meter. Saito et al. disclose the equipment is a watt-hour meter and are concerned with preventing the unauthorized operation after installation and wiring of the electronic watt-hour meter used for electricity bill transactions (Abstract & Technical-Field). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to modify Saito et al. to have the equipment be a fluid meter, for the same objective of preventing unauthorized operation to prevent tampering of the meter.
Claims 5-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Saito et al. (WO 2013/118257 A1) - see English language translation provided - as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Aiken (USPN 9,435,665 B2).
With respect to claim 5, Saito et al. do not specifically disclose a masking device comprising a first portion delimiting an inner space in which the receiver is positioned, and arranged to prevent spurious light signals originating from inside or outside the housing from interfering with the receiver. Aiken discloses this (Fig. 6 - 92 & column 9, lines 14-16). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to modify Saito et al. to have a masking device comprising a first portion delimiting an inner space in which the receiver is positioned, and arranged to prevent spurious light signals originating from inside or outside the housing from interfering with the receiver, to enable accurate detection results.
With respect to claim 6, Saito et al. as modified above disclose a first optical guide (8a) positioned between the emitter (6) and the inner wall (2), and arranged to guide and concentrate the light signals towards the inner wall; a second optical guide (8b) positioned between the receiver (7) and the inner wall (2), and arranged to guide and concentrate the light signals towards the receiver, wherein the masking device also comprises a second portion situated between the emitter and the receiver (Saito et al. - Fig. 6 - 92 - the housing includes a wall separating the emitter (60) and the receiver (62)), and arranged to prevent spurious reflections, resulting from the reflection of the light signals emitted by the emitter on the first optical guide or on the second optical guide, or from lateral radiation originating from the emitter, from interfering with the receiver.
Conclusion
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/JURIE YUN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2884
June 18, 2026
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