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 .
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-8, 10, 12-16, 19, 25-29, 31 and 33-35 are 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: the aforementioned claims set forth a series of physical structures/configurations that are well beyond that which is disclosed within the Leung reference (discussed in greater depth infra), which is the prior art closest to Applicants’ claimed invention, and there would be no obvious reason to modify Leung to the extent necessary to satisfy each of Applicants’ pertinent limitations.
With respect to the aforementioned claims, the provision of each of the elements by themselves is known, but providing such elements within the Leung electronic label, specifically arranged in the manner that Applicants require, would interfere with the ability of the Leung label to operate as intended.
In view of the foregoing, the modifications necessary to satisfy each of Applicants’ claim limitations would be likely to render the Leung assembly incapable of continuing to operate/behave in the particular manner set forth within the reference itself (given the particularly sensitive nature of such electronic label assemblies), which would be strongly indicative of an application of improper hindsight reasoning.
Claims 3-8, 10, 12-16, 19, 25-29, 31 and 33-35 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Note that any change to the scope of the claimed invention related to the aforementioned claims may potentially affect the determinations/treatment of claims set forth supra.
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 1-35 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.
The claims 1, 9, 11-13, 18-19, 21, 23, 25, 27-28, 30 and 32-35 recitations of “associated with” are unclear, as it is unknown exactly what kind of “association” is sought. Should the respective elements be physically attached to each other? Exactly what structure/configuration is sought? Please review/revise/clarify.
There is insufficient antecedent basis for multiple limitations in the claims, including: i) claim 1 and 30 recite the limitation "the instructions"; and ii) claims 20, 26 and 31 recite the limitation “the entirety”.
The use of parentheses within claim 1 renders the exact scope of the claim unclear, as it is unknown whether the terms within said parentheses are indeed requisite elements of the claim. Exactly what structure/configuration is sought? Please review/revise/clarify.
The term “in proximity” in claims 9 and 24 is a relative term which renders the claim indefinite. The term “in proximity” is not defined by the claims, the specification does not provide a standard for ascertaining the requisite degree, and one of ordinary skill in the art would not be reasonably apprised of the scope of the invention.
The claims 12, 27 and 33 recitations of “if yes…” render the exact scope of the respective claims unclear, as it is unknown what happens in the event of a “no” result. Exactly what structure/configuration is sought? Also, note that the respective claims are drawn to an electronic label- not a method of operation of such.
The claims 12-14 and 27-28 and 32-33 recitations of “predetermined” are unclear, as it is unknown exactly what the pertinent values are. Exactly what structure/configuration is sought? Please review/revise/clarify.
The claims 15-16, 29 and 35 recitations of “if no…” render the exact scope of the respective claims unclear, as it is unknown what happens in the event of “yes” result. Exactly what structure/configuration is sought? Also, note that the respective claims are drawn to an electronic label- not a method of operation of such.
The claims 19 and 25 recitations of “one or more Artificial Intelligence techniques” is unclear. Exactly which “techniques” are sought? Please review/revise/clarify.
Claims 2-8, 10, 17, 22, 25 and 31 are rejected as depending (directly or indirectly) from rejected independent claims 1, 20 and 30.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 1-2, 9, 11, 17-18, 20-24, 30 and 32 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2023/0196038 to Leung et al. (“Leung”).
Regarding claim 1, Anders anticipates an electronic (para. 2) label (e.g. tracking labels 100 and 100a-b, as shown in figs. 1-3 and discussed at para. 69 and 80) for affixation to (fig. 3 and para. 69 and 81) an article (e.g. item 306, as shown in fig. 3 and discussed at para. 69 and 81), comprising: i) a substrate assembly (e.g. layers 101, 213, 102, 206, 205, 204, 201, 202 and 203, together, as shown in fig. 2 and discussed at para. 79) adapted to removably (note that via an application of sufficient pulling force, the tracking label 100/100a-b may be removed as desired) affix to (figs. 2-3; note the presence of adhesive layer 202, as shown in fig. 2) the article (306), the substrate assembly (101, 213, 102, 206, 205, 204, 201, 202 and 203, together) defining opposing (fig. 2) planar (fig. 2) top and bottom surfaces (e.g. upper surface of layer 101 and lower surface of layer 203, respectively), the substrate assembly (101, 213, 102, 206, 205, 204, 201, 202 and 203, together) including: a) a battery component (e.g. battery 125, as shown in figs. 1-2 and discussed at para. 72); b) an electronic circuit (e.g. flexible electronic circuit, as discussed at para. 9 and shown in fig. 1) coupled to (para. 36 and fig. 1) the battery component (125), wherein a unique identifier (e.g. identifier 123, as shown in fig. 1 and discussed at para. 71) is associated with (para. 9 and 71) the electronic circuit (aforementioned flexible electronic circuit), the electronic circuit (aforementioned flexible electronic circuit) including (fig. 1): 1) a memory (122, as shown in fig. 1 and discussed at para. 71); and 2) a processor (e.g. controller 121, as shown in fig. 1 and discussed at para. 71) disposed in communication with (fig. 1 and para. 71) the memory (122); c) a switch assembly (e.g. tab 113, as shown in fig. 1 and discussed at para. 75) having at least a portion (e.g. spatial area, as shown in fig. 1) provided on (i.e. attached to, as shown in fig. 1) the bottom surface (aforementioned lower surface of layer 203) of the substrate assembly (101, 213, 102, 206, 205, 204, 201, 202 and 203, together) configured to couple (fig. 5 and para. 89) the electronic circuit (aforementioned flexible electronic circuit) to the battery component (125) for energizing (i.e. activating, as discussed at para. 75 and 89) the electronic circuit (aforementioned flexible electronic circuit) responsive to the substrate assembly (101, 213, 102, 206, 205, 204, 201, 202 and 203, together) being at least partially removed (e.g. tab 113 portion of the aforementioned layers being removed, per para. 75 and 89) relative to the article (306), such that when energized (i.e. activated, per para. 75 and 89), the processor (121) upon execution of the instructions (e.g. requests for update information, issued by server discussed at para. 9) is configured to: 1) capture data associated with a location (e.g. location of tracking label at a particular time, per para. 9) of the substrate assembly (101, 213, 102, 206, 205, 204, 201, 202 and 203, together) (location information); and 2) transmit (para. 9), via a communications network (e.g. Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, cellular network, and sub-Gigahertz wireless interfaces discussed at para. 15), the captured location data (aforementioned location of tracking label at a particular time) and the unique identifier (123), to a remotely located computer device (e.g. server discussed at para. 9) for determining (para. 9) an address (708, as shown in fig. 7 and discussed at para. 99) associated with (fig. 7) the location information (aforementioned location of tracking label at a particular time) and identification information (123) associated with (compare para. 71 and 81-82) the article (306).
Regarding claim 2, Anders anticipates the electronic label as recited in claim 1, wherein the substrate assembly (101, 213, 102, 206, 205, 204, 201, 202 and 203, together) is defined by a plurality of layers (fig. 2).
Regarding claim 9, Anders anticipates the electronic label as recited in claim 1, wherein capturing data associated with the location (aforementioned location of tracking label at a particular time, per para. 9) of the substrate assembly (101, 213, 102, 206, 205, 204, 201, 202 and 203, together) includes capturing Wi-Fi information (para. 83 and 96) relating to a plurality of access points (para. 83 and 96) located in proximity to (para. 83 and 96) the substrate assembly (101, 213, 102, 206, 205, 204, 201, 202 and 203, together).
Regarding claim 11, Anders anticipates the electronic label as recited in claim 9, wherein the captured Wi-Fi information (aforementioned location of tracking label at a particular time) includes a mac address (para. 71) and signal strength information (para. 31) associated with a captured access point (para. 83 and 96).
Regarding claim 17, Anders anticipates the electronic label as recited in claim 1, wherein the article (306) consists of one of a: container (fig. 3), an article of manufacture, or living creature.
Regarding claim 18, Anders anticipates the electronic label as recited in claim 1, wherein the remotely located computer device (aforementioned server discussed at para. 9) is configured to determine identity (para. 131) of one or more users associated with the determined address (708, as shown in fig. 7 and discussed at para. 99).
Regarding claim 20, Anders anticipates a computer-implemented (e.g. executed by server discussed at para. 9) method (para. 7) for determining (para. 85) a recipient (e.g. person/entity residing at final destination 322) of an article (e.g. item 306, as shown in fig. 3 and discussed at para. 69 and 81) responsive to an electronic (para. 2) label (e.g. tracking labels 100 and 100a-b, as shown in figs. 1-3 and discussed at para. 69 and 80) being removed (e.g. tab 113 portion of the aforementioned tracking labels 100 and 100a-b being removed, per para. 75 and 89) from the article (306), comprising: i) receiving (fig. 3), in a first computer processor (e.g. aforementioned server discussed at para. 9), via a communications network (e.g. Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, cellular network, and sub-Gigahertz wireless interfaces discussed at para. 15), electronic data (e.g. location of tracking label at a particular time, per para. 9) transmitted from (fig. 3) the electronic label (100 and 100a-b) responsive to (fig. 3) the entirety (see the rejection under 35 USC 112, set forth supra) of the electronic label (100 and 100a-b) being separated from (para. 75 and 89) the article (306); and ii) analyzing (para. 69), in the first computer processor (aforementioned server discussed at para. 9), the received electronic data (aforementioned location of tracking label at a particular time) transmitted from (fig. 3) the electronic label (100 and 100a-b) for determining (para. 9) at least identification (e.g. final destination 322, as shown in fig. 3 and discussed at para. 85) of the recipient (aforementioned person/entity residing at final destination 322) of the article (306).
Regarding claim 21, Anders anticipates the computer-implemented method as recited in claim 20, wherein the analyzing step (para. 69) further includes determining (para. 9) an address (708, as shown in fig. 7 and discussed at para. 99) associated with (fig. 7) the recipient (aforementioned person/entity residing at final destination 322).
Regarding claim 22, Anders anticipates the computer-implemented method as recited in claim 20, wherein the first computer processor (aforementioned server discussed at para. 9) is a component of a computer server (para 9) located in a cloud hosting site (fig. 3).
Regarding claim 23, Anders anticipates the computer-implemented method as recited in claim 20 wherein the received electronic data (aforementioned location of tracking label at a particular time) consists of location data (e.g. location of tracking label) and a unique identifier (e.g. identifier 123, as shown in fig. 1 and discussed at para. 71) associated with the electronic label (100 and 100a-b) removed from the article (306).
Regarding claim 24, Anders anticipates the computer-implemented method as recited in claim 23, wherein the location data (aforementioned location of tracking label at a particular time) consists of Wi-Fi information (para. 83 and 96) relating to a plurality of access points (para. 83 and 96) located in proximity to (para. 83 and 96) the electronic label (100 and 100a-b) removed from the article (306).
Regarding claim 30, Anders anticipates an electronic (para. 2) label (e.g. tracking labels 100 and 100a-b, as shown in figs. 1-3 and discussed at para. 69 and 80) for an article (e.g. item 306, as shown in fig. 3 and discussed at para. 69 and 81), comprising: i) a substrate assembly (e.g. layers 101, 213, 102, 206, 205, 204, 201, 202 and 203, together, as shown in fig. 2 and discussed at para. 79) having a plurality of layers (fig. 2) adapted to removably (note that via an application of sufficient pulling force, the tracking label 100/100a-b may be removed as desired) affix to (figs. 2-3; note the presence of adhesive layer 202, as shown in fig. 2) the article (306), the substrate assembly (101, 213, 102, 206, 205, 204, 201, 202 and 203, together) including: a) a battery component (e.g. battery 125, as shown in figs. 1-2 and discussed at para. 72) provided in (fig. 2) the substrate assembly (101, 213, 102, 206, 205, 204, 201, 202 and 203, together); b) an electronic circuit (e.g. flexible electronic circuit, as discussed at para. 9 and shown in fig. 1) provided in (compare figs. 1-2) the substrate assembly (101, 213, 102, 206, 205, 204, 201, 202 and 203, together) and coupled to (para. 36 and fig. 1) the battery component (125), the electronic circuit (aforementioned flexible electronic circuit) including (fig. 1): 1) a memory (122, as shown in fig. 1 and discussed at para. 71); and 2) a processor (e.g. controller 121, as shown in fig. 1 and discussed at para. 71) disposed in communication with (fig. 1 and para. 71) the memory (122); c) a switch assembly (e.g. tab 113, as shown in fig. 1 and discussed at para. 75) provided in (i.e. attached to, as shown in fig. 1) the bottom surface (aforementioned lower surface of layer 203) of the substrate assembly (101, 213, 102, 206, 205, 204, 201, 202 and 203, together) configured to couple (fig. 5 and para. 89) the electronic circuit (aforementioned flexible electronic circuit) to the battery component (125) for energizing (i.e. activating, as discussed at para. 75 and 89) the electronic circuit (aforementioned flexible electronic circuit) responsive to at least a portion of the substrate assembly (101, 213, 102, 206, 205, 204, 201, 202 and 203, together) being removed (e.g. tab 113 portion of the aforementioned layers being removed, per para. 75 and 89) from the article (306), such that when energized (i.e. activated, per para. 75 and 89), the processor (121) upon execution of the instructions (e.g. requests for update information, issued by server discussed at para. 9) is configured to: 1) capture data associated with a location (e.g. location of tracking label at a particular time, per para. 9) of the substrate assembly (101, 213, 102, 206, 205, 204, 201, 202 and 203, together); and 2) transmit (para. 9), via a communications network (e.g. Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, cellular network, and sub-Gigahertz wireless interfaces discussed at para. 15), the captured location data (aforementioned location of tracking label at a particular time) to a remotely located computer device (e.g. server discussed at para. 9) for determining (para. 9) at least identification (e.g. final destination 322, as shown in fig. 3 and discussed at para. 85) of a recipient (e.g. person/entity residing at final destination 322) associated (fig. 3) with the article (306).
Regarding claim 32, Anders anticipates the electronic label as recited in claim 30, wherein the remotely located computer device (aforementioned server discussed at para. 9) further determines an address (aforementioned location of tracking label at a particular time) associated with the determined recipient (aforementioned person/entity residing at final destination 322).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JUSTIN V LEWIS whose telephone number is (571)270-5052. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7:30AM-5:00PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Daniel J. Troy can be reached at (571) 270-3742. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JUSTIN V LEWIS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3637
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