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 .
Herein after “it would have been obvious” should be read as “it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention”.
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.
Claim(s) 1, 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yamamoto et al PN 2015/0084522 in view of Fushimi EP 2 713 681 A1.
In regards to claims 1, 16: Yamamoto et al teaches a device (figure 1) comprising: at least one memory ([0016] “The area controller 12 includes a timer 12a which can perform a clocking operation, and a memory (not shown) in which a program which performs a control with respect to the plurality of lighting apparatuses 13, or the like, is stored”) storing one or more instructions (program which performs a control) and for each of one or more first devices (13 [0017] “The lighting apparatus 13 includes, for example, a light emitting unit such as an LED, and is configured so as to emit illumination light with a light amount corresponding to a control of the area controller 12 which is connected through the signal line 16”) corresponding to a first space (AR [0020] “Specifically, at least one of the lighting apparatuses 13 is, for example, arranged at each area AR which is surrounded with a dotted line and a dot and dashed line in FIG. 2”) for each of one or more second devices (13 in a second area) corresponding to a second space (a separate area AR) different from the first Space; and at least one processor (11 [0039] “In addition, according to the embodiment, the determination process and the clocking operation in the processes of the flowchart in FIG. 3 are not limited to be performed by the area controller 12, and for example, may be performed by any of the main control unit 11 and the human detection sensor 14”) configured to execute the instructions (program); wherein the one or more instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the device to: obtain a first signal (“detection signal” signal from 14 of the first area AR indicating human has entered area (ACT1, ACT3) ([0016] “In addition, the area controller 12 is configured so as to determine presence or absence of a person in a detection range of the human detection sensor 14 based on a detection signal which is input through the signal line 16”) related to a first device (13) of the one or more first devices, obtain a second signal ((ACT6 detecting person has moved to a neighboring area) after obtaining the first signal, wherein the second signal is related to a second device (14 in a neighboring area is related lights 13 in the second area) of the one or more second devices (13), and based on obtaining the second signal, set each of the one or more first devices to a power saving state ([0029] “FIG. 3, the area controller 12 assumes that a person is not present in any of the areas AR1 to AR4 which are included in the detection range RD1, and performs a lights out control in which each of the lighting apparatuses 13 which is arranged in one area is turned off after elapsing of a predetermined time TB1 (<predetermined time TA), after detecting absence of a person in the one area in which the lighting apparatus 13 is turned on in ACT 2 in FIG. 3 (ACT 7 in FIG. 3)”). While Yamamoto et al teaches turning on lights in the area the person has moved into and turning off lights in the previous area after the person has moved into the next area, Yamamoto et al never mentions the light identification information being stored in a memory. While some form of identification of the lights must be required Yamamoto et al never discussed this feature. Fushimi teaches lighting control in plural areas that each have lights with identification information (Abstract “The lighting system includes lighting devices and a controller of the lighting devices. The controller includes a display unit and a storage unit which stores area information including target areas in which the lighting devices are arranged, the identification information of the lighting devices, the lighting information regarding different lighting conditions of the lighting devices, and scene setting information regarding a state change pattern for changing a lighting state of one or more lighting devices allotted to each target area”). ([0021] “In the present embodiment, the lighting system 1 further includes a control device 4 for turning on/off the lighting devices 2 in response to a control signal sent from the controller 3. However, the control device 4 may be omitted in a case where all the lighting devices 2 can be directly controlled by the controller”). It would have been obvious to include identification information for each light/device because this would have provided a means for the controller to determine which light to turn on and which to turn off.
Claim(s) 2-3, 17-18, 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yamamoto et al PN 2015/0084522 in view of Fushimi EP 2 713 681 A1 as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Yasuchika PN 2024/0098415.
In regards to claims 2, 17-18, 20: Yamamoto et al teaches lights (4 lights (13) in figures 2 and 3) grouped with a presence detection sensor (14) and classifying them in an absence group ([0016] “In addition, the area controller 12 is configured so as to determine presence or absence of a person in a detection range of the human detection sensor 14 based on a detection signal which is input through the signal line 16”). Identifying a first type of signal such as (ACT 7 “lights out in one area after elapsing of time TB1” [0029] “FIG. 3, the area controller 12 assumes that a person is not present in any of the areas AR1 to AR4 which are included in the detection range RD1, and performs a lights out control in which each of the lighting apparatuses 13 which is arranged in one area is turned off after elapsing of a predetermined time TB1 (<predetermined time TA), after detecting absence of a person in the one area in which the lighting apparatus 13 is turned on in ACT 2 in FIG. 3 (ACT 7 in FIG. 3)”). Based on the lights out control set the lights in a power saving mode “off”. Yamamoto et al only expressly teaches an off state instead of a “standby” mode. Yasuchika teaches ([0006] “Incidentally, when a user moves from a room A in which group reproduction is being performed to another room B, it is preferred from the viewpoint of power saving not only to end the group reproduction in the room A but also to set all wireless speakers installed in the room A to an off (standby) state. However, it is troublesome to set off all the wireless speakers installed in the room A to the off state by operating power buttons of the wireless speakers or a controller therefor”). It would have been obvious to control devices other than just lights and set them in a standby state because this would have allowed more than just lights to be controlled. Further a standby state allows rapid powering of devices back on of devices that are set to standby.
In regards to claim 3: Yamamoto et al teaches a signal indicating a cessation of user interaction exceeds a predetermined time “turned off after elapsing of a predetermined time”.
Claim(s) 4-7, 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yamamoto et al PN 2015/0084522 in view of Fushimi EP 2 713 681 A1 and Yasuchika PN 2024/0098415 as applied to claim 2 above, and further in view of Lee et al PN 2012/0023353.
In regards to claim 4: Yasuchika teaches a standby mode but does not teach a standby timer. Lee et al teaches multiple power levels where a standby timer is set upon entering standby mode (figure 2) where when the timer exceeds a threshold then switching from a standby mode to a sleep mode then after a second time threshold proceeding to an off state. It would have been obvious to include a standby timer because this would have allowed multiple power states for devices that take time to switch to back on from lower power states.
In regards to claims 5, 20: Yamamoto et al teaches lights (4 lights (13) in figures 2 and 3) grouped with a presence detection sensor (14) and classifying them in an absence group ([0016] “In addition, the area controller 12 is configured so as to determine presence or absence of a person in a detection range of the human detection sensor 14 based on a detection signal which is input through the signal line 16”). Identifying a first type of signal such as (ACT 7 “lights out in one area after elapsing of time TB1” [0029] “FIG. 3, the area controller 12 assumes that a person is not present in any of the areas AR1 to AR4 which are included in the detection range RD1, and performs a lights out control in which each of the lighting apparatuses 13 which is arranged in one area is turned off after elapsing of a predetermined time TB1 (<predetermined time TA), after detecting absence of a person in the one area in which the lighting apparatus 13 is turned on in ACT 2 in FIG. 3 (ACT 7 in FIG. 3)”). Based on the lights out control set the lights in a power saving mode “off”. Lee et al also teaches a signal to switch from normal to standby a second signal to switch from standby to sleep a third signal to switch from standby to normal/on. Yamamoto et al also teaches powering back on.
In regards to claim 6: Yasuchika teaches resetting the standby timer after powering back on (C21 to S1 to C12 “timer1=0”).
In regards to claim 7: Yasuchika teaches releasing from power save move (powering back on C21).
Claim(s) 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yamamoto et al PN 2015/0084522 in view of Fushimi EP 2 713 681 A1, Yasuchika PN 2024/0098415, and Lee et al PN 2012/0023353 as applied to claim 5 above, and further in view of Shamillian et al PN 2010/0188279.
In regards to claim 8: Yamamoto et al and Yasuchika both teaches powering on and off devices (lights/speakers) based upon the presence of a user. Neither teaches a user input powering on the devices. Shamillian et al teaches powering on and off various devices ([0002] televisions, set top boxes, stereo systems, digital video recorders, personal computers, [0006] “lighting, heating, ventilation/air conditioning based upon a location of a user ([0015] “The present invention provides methods and apparatus for controlling one or more electronic devices based on the location of a user”). Shamillian et al also teaches user input ([0033] “Once it is determined during step 610 that a change in user inputs is detected, then a further test is performed during step 620 to determine if one or more device control rules in the device control rule-base 400 are satisfied”). It would have been obvious to allow user inputs to change the power state of a device because this would have allowed a user to turn on devices in a room he/she is planning on entering thus not having to wait for devices such as laptops to power up.
Claim(s) 9-10, 13-14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yamamoto et al PN 2015/0084522 in view of Fushimi EP 2 713 681 A1, Yasuchika PN 2024/0098415, and Lee et al PN 2012/0023353 as applied to claim 8 above, and further in view of Shamillian et al PN 2010/0188279.
In regards to claim 9: Yamamoto et al teaches the devices are lights. Yasuchika teaches the devices are speakers. Shamillian et al teaches the devices are various types such air conditioning and televisions and laptop computers as well as lights. None however teaches saving the state information when the devices are put to standby mode. Gendler et al teaches ([0128] “Prior to entry into such sleep state, the CAB unit may save the context information stored therein to a further portion of the memory hierarchy”). It would have been obvious to save state information for systems that have state information because this would have allowed resuming to the same state when powering back on.
In regards to claim 10: Yasuchika teaches [0009] “when the own wireless speaker is instructed to shift to an on state by a power button provided to the own wireless speaker or by a controller for remotely operating the own wireless speaker, shifts the own wireless speaker to the on state and transmits a command to shift to the on state to each of the other wireless speakers belonging to the same group as a group of the own wireless speaker, which are identified by the member information; and when the own wireless speaker is instructed to shift to an off state, transmits a command to shift to the off state to each of the other wireless speakers belonging to the same group as the group of the own wireless speaker”).
In regards to claims 13, 14: Yamamoto et al teaches a signal to turn on the lights (Abstract: “and a control unit which performs a control of turning on a lighting apparatus which is arranged in the one area with a first light amount”) and turning the lights back on releasing them from the power off state.
Claim(s) 11-12, 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yamamoto et al PN 2015/0084522 in view of Fushimi EP 2 713 681 A1, Yasuchika PN 2024/0098415, Lee et al PN 2012/0023353, and Shamillian et al PN 2010/0188279 as applied to claim 8 above, and further in view of Jones et al PN 7,281,142.
In regards to claims 11, 19: Yasuchika teaches the power on and power off commands as disclosed above. Yasuchika does not expressly teach a confirmation message. Jones et al teaches “From the foregoing discussion, it should be apparent that a need exists for an apparatus, system, and method that render current Wake On LAN systems more secure. Beneficially, such an apparatus, system, and method would provide a secure means of confirming power control commands before the execution of said commands are carried out”. It would have been obvious to confirm power commands before performing the commands because this would have made sure the commands were received.
In regards to claim 12: Shamillian et al teaches a user terminal (laptop).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 15 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: While many references were found inquiring to a device whether to enter power saving none were found “inquiring weather to release the power saving state”. All powered back up without an inquiry to the device as to “weather to release the power saving state”.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Multiple to references are cited that teach entering a new area and turning too devices in a previous area. Most commonly lights but any devices are covered.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PAUL R MYERS whose telephone number is (571)272-3639. The examiner can normally be reached telework M-F start 7-8 leave 4-5.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Jaweed Abbaszadeh can be reached at 571-270-1640. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/Paul R. MYERS/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2176