Prosecution Insights
Last updated: September 17, 2026
Application No. 18/781,218

SMART LIGHTING AND APPLIANCE CONTROL SYSTEM WITH LOCATION AND CALENDAR AWARENESS

Non-Final OA §101§103§112
Filed
Jul 23, 2024
Priority
Aug 08, 2023 — provisional 63/531,495
Examiner
ALAM, MIRZA F
Art Unit
Tech Center
Assignee
Lighting & Supplies Inc.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
74%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
2m
Est. Remaining
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 74% — above average
74%
Career Allowance Rate
766 granted / 1031 resolved
+14.3% vs TC avg
Strong +34% interview lift
Without
With
+34.0%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 4m
Avg Prosecution
30 currently pending
Career history
1051
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
6.1%
-33.9% vs TC avg
§103
66.9%
+26.9% vs TC avg
§102
3.2%
-36.8% vs TC avg
§112
12.4%
-27.6% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1031 resolved cases

Office Action

§101 §103 §112
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 . DETAILED ACTION 1. This communication is a first office action, non-final rejection on the merits. Claims 1-17, as originally filed, are currently pending and have been considered below. Priority 2. Applicant's claim for domestic priority under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) is acknowledged. The application is filed on 07/23/2024 but claims the benefit of U.S. provisional application number 63/531495 filed on 08/08/2023. Information Disclosure Statement 3. The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 07/23/2024 has been considered. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Form PTO-1449 is signed and attached hereto. Claim Objections 4. The following claims are objected to because of the following informalities: Claim 1 recites, “…and an apparatus and methods for controlling said lighting fixtures and devices ….” in line 6. For clarity and consistency, it is suggested to change “…and Claim 9 recites, “A method for managing smart devices in the smart lighting home automation control system of claim 8,” in line 1-2. For clarity and consistency, it is suggested to change “the method for managing smart devices in the smart lighting home automation control system of claim 8,”. Claim 9 recites, “allows multiple users to access and control the system, and….,” in line 6 and “..software programming application also allows setting up user accounts…” in line 3. For clarity and consistency, it is suggested to change “allows multiple users to access and control and….,” in line 6, and “software programming application Claim 10 recites, “A method for creating and editing schedules for Shabbat and Jewish holidays in the smart lighting home automation control system of claim 9,” in line 1-3. For clarity and consistency, it is suggested to change “the method for creating and editing schedules for Shabbat and Jewish holidays in the smart lighting home automation control system of claim 9,”. Claim 11 recites, “A method for configuring lighting and appliance schedules during Shabbat and Jewish holidays in the smart lighting home automation control system of claim 10,” in line 1-3. For clarity and consistency, it is suggested to change “the method for configuring lighting and appliance schedules during Shabbat and Jewish holidays in the smart lighting home automation control system of claim 10,”. Claim 13 recites, “A method for ensuring compliance with Jewish customs and laws in the SmartHome® Home Automation Program APP, of claim 12,” in line 1-3. For clarity and consistency, it is suggested to change “the method for ensuring compliance with Jewish customs and laws in the SmartHome® Home Automation Program APP, of claim 12,”. Claim 14 recites, “A method for controlling building and household lighting fixtures during religious holidays in the SmartHome® Home Automation Program APP, of claim 13” in line 1-3. For clarity and consistency, it is suggested to change “the method for controlling building and household lighting fixtures during religious holidays in the SmartHome® Home Automation Program APP, of claim 13,”. Claim 16 recites, “A method for facilitating functionality in accordance with Jewish law in the SmartHome® Home Automation Program APP of claim 15” in line 1-3. For clarity and consistency, it is suggested to change “the method for facilitating functionality in accordance with Jewish law in the SmartHome® Home Automation Program APP of claim 15,”. Claim 17 recites, “A method for optimizing lighting control and user convenience in the SmartHome® Home Automation Program APP of claim 16” in line 1-3. For clarity and consistency, it is suggested to change “the method for optimizing lighting control and user convenience in the SmartHome® Home Automation Program APP of claim 16,”. Appropriate corrections are required. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112 5. 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 2 recites, “the generation of regular schedules based on the Jewish calendar and … ” in line 3. There is insufficient antecedent basis for the limitation in the claim. Claim 5 recites, “enhances the efficiency and accuracy… ” in line 9. There is insufficient antecedent basis for the limitation in the claim. Claim 8 recites, “a software programming application to automatically scheduling the operation of lights and appliances based on the Jewish calendar,… ” in lines 5-6. There is insufficient antecedent basis for the limitation in the claim. Claim 16 recites, “and holiday modes to fix the state of switches during holiday,… ” in lines 4-5. There is insufficient antecedent basis for the limitation in the claim. Regarding claims 9 and 11, the phrase "also" renders the claim(s) indefinite because the claim(s) include(s) elements not actually disclosed (those encompassed by "or the like"), thereby rendering the scope of the claim(s) unascertainable. See MPEP § 2173.05(d). Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101 6. 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. Claims 1-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to a judicial exception (i.e., a law of nature, a natural phenomenon, or an abstract idea). Claim 1: Step Analysis 1: Statutory Category? Yes. The claim is a system claim. 2A - Prong 1: Judicial Exception Recited? Yes. The claim recites the limitation of software program running for controlling and monitoring to enable observant Jewish individuals to manage building and household lighting fixtures. This limitation, as drafted, is a system that, under its broadest reasonable interpretation, covers performance of the limitation in the mind but for the recitation of generic computer components. That is, other than reciting “software program running for controlling and monitoring to enable observant Jewish individuals to manage building and household lighting fixtures,” nothing in the claim element precludes the step from practically being performed in the mind. For example, but for the “monitoring to enable observant Jewish individuals to manage building and household lighting fixtures in his/her mind. The mere nominal recitation of a software program running for controlling and monitoring to enable observant Jewish individuals to manage building and household lighting fixtures does not take the claim limitation out of the mental processes grouping. Thus, the claim recites a mental. 2A - Prong 2: Integrated into a Practical Application? No. The claim recites additional elements: controlling said lighting fixtures and devices in accordance with Jewish law under control of said software program performs the controlling step. The controlling step is recited at a high level of generality (i.e., as a general means of performing for use in the controlling step), and amounts to mere data manipulations, which is a form of insignificant extra-solution activity. The controlling said lighting fixtures and devices in accordance with Jewish law under control of said software program is also recited at a high level of generality, and merely automates the controlling step. Each of the additional limitations is no more than mere instructions to apply the exception using a generic computer component (the software to control lighting fixtures). The combination of these additional elements is no more than mere instructions to apply the exception using a generic computer component (the controlling system). Accordingly, even in combination, these additional elements do not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application because they do not impose any meaningful limits on practicing the abstract idea. Thus, the claim is directed to the abstract idea. 2B: Claim provides an Inventive Concept? No. As discussed with respect to Step 2A Prong, the additional elements in the claim amount to no more than mere instructions to apply the exception using a generic computer component. The same analysis applies here in 2B, i.e., mere instructions to apply an exception on a generic computer cannot integrate a judicial exception into a practical application at Step 2A or provide an inventive concept in Step 2B. Under the 2019 PEG, the conclusion that an additional element is insignificant extra-solution activity in Step 2A should be re-evaluated in Step 2B. Here, the determination step was considered to be extra-solution activity in Step 2A, and thus it is re-evaluated in Step 2B to controlling if it is more than what is well-understood, routine, conventional activity in the field. The background of the example does not provide any indication that the controlling is anything other than a generic, and the Symantec, TLI, and OIP Techs. court decisions cited in MPEP 2106.05(d)(II) indicate that mere controlling light fixtures is a well understood, routine, and conventional function when it is claimed in a merely generic manner (as it is here). Accordingly, a conclusion that the controlling step is well-understood, routine, conventional activity is supported under Berkheimer. For these reasons, there is no inventive concept in the claim, and thus it is ineligible. Claim 2: Similar analysis applied as home automation system to perform operations over a time period wherein creation of special schedules for specific needs or activities, and allowing manual selection between regular and special schedules for said lighting fixtures and devices. Claim 3: Similar analysis applied as home automation system to perform operations to monitor user location data to set preferences for said lighting fixtures and devices performance before and after Shabbat or Yom Tov, and ensuring energy savings. Claim 4: Similar analysis applied as software program is a SmartHome® Home Automation Program APP installed in said cellular smart phone. Claim 5: Similar analysis applied as to automatically synchronized with the National Bureau of Standards atomic clock and updates set schedules at preset intervals and reports updated schedules to said remote monitoring system. Claim 6: Similar analysis applied as to providing user-friendly interfaces for scheduling Shabbat, Jewish holidays, and special events with editable times and actions for said lighting fixtures and devices. Claim 7: Similar analysis applied as to providing normal weekday programming functions, dimming capabilities, color-tuning options, voice command control, AI interfacing, synching with human biorhythms, data memory retention during power failures, and various timing adjustments for optimal lighting fixture. Similar analysis applied for Claims 8-17: Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 7. 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. 8. 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(a) 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. 9. Claims 1-3, 5-6 and 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over Wollner (US 6473661 B1) (hereinafter Wollner) in view of Bloch (US 20120223661 A1) (hereinafter Bloch). Regarding claim 1, Wollner discloses a smart lighting home automation control system (Abstract, A home automation system for automatically controlling electric lights and appliances in a Jewish family's home or institution. The system is preset to generate a regular schedules for Shabbos and Jewish Holidays based on the Jewish calendar and generate regular weekday scheduled events), comprising: monitoring apparatus, a software program running in said portable controller and monitoring apparatus designed to enable observant Jewish individuals to manage building and household lighting fixtures and devices during religious holidays (col. 2, lines 56-60, automation program is running to control electric lights and appliances in the home on a preset schedule, program is written using the Visual Studio, col. 2, lines 42-46,A home automation system that is capable of automatically scheduling the control of these lights and appliances in accordance with Jewish law), and an apparatus and methods for controlling said lighting fixtures and devices in accordance with Jewish law under control of said software program (col. 3, lines 9-17, The program controls electrical lights and appliances following "regular schedule" and schedule is customized for each family and is based on Jewish calendar, Jewish law). Wollner specifically fails to disclose a portable controller and monitoring apparatus. In analogous art, Bloch discloses a portable controller and monitoring apparatus (Fig. 1-2, para 24, wall light switch have particular utility for Jewish people by providing an article 10, Abstract, The control system automatically activates holiday mode by combining a geographically determined Jewish religious clock executed by software and hardware that utilizes current time, date and geographical location). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify teaching of home automation system, which can turn on or off numerous electric devices in a home according to a schedule preset according to religious activities disclosed by Wollner to use method for enabling Jewish people to control building and household lighting during religious holidays as taught by Bloch to activate a control system for automatically initiating the holiday mode at the beginning of a Jewish holiday and for automatically deactivating the holiday mode at the end of a Jewish holiday. [Bloch, para 009]. Regarding claim 2, Wollner discloses the smart lighting home automation control system of claim 1, further including: the generation of regular schedules based on the Jewish calendar and rules of Jewish religious activities, the creation of special schedules for specific needs or activities, and allowing manual selection between regular and special schedules for said lighting fixtures and devices (Abstract, system is preset to generate a regular schedules for Shabbos and Jewish Holidays based on Jewish calendar and generate regular scheduled events. Special schedules vacation mode, guest mode, summer mode and the like added and adjusted by user as well, col. 2, lines 11-15, The regular schedule is set according to Jewish calendar and rules on Jewish religious activities while special schedule set according to different seasons). Regarding claim 3, Wollner discloses the smart lighting home automation control system of claim 2, wherein said portable controller and monitoring apparatus is a cellular smart phone, and wherein said software program integrates Zemanim schedule information and user location data to set preferences for said lighting fixtures and devices performance before and after Shabbat or Yom Tov, and ensuring energy savings and optimal lighting features in a Kosher home (col. 1, lines 29-35, electrical appliance used to turn devices on and off for maintaining the schedule Shabbos , as well as Yom Tov, starts at Sundown, col. 2, lines 38-46, per Jewish religious rules, electric lights and other appliances turned on or off on Shabbos or Jewish Holidays to observant Jew in typical Jewish home. A home automation system automatically scheduling control of t lights and appliances in accordance with Jewish law). Regarding claim 5, Wollner discloses the smart lighting home automation control system of claim 1, further including: an internal clock set in said software program, wherein said internal clock is automatically synchronized with the National Bureau of Standards atomic clock and updates set schedules at preset intervals and reports updated schedules to said remote monitoring system, and enhances the efficiency and accuracy of the smart lighting home automation system (col. 2, lines 11-23, The regular schedule is set according to Jewish calendar and rules on Jewish religious activities while special schedule set according to length of day time in different seasons, automatically synchronizing the clock in computer with National Bureau of Standards atomic clock). Regarding claim 6, Wollner discloses the smart lighting home automation control system of claim 1, further including: overriding of normal mode functionality with holiday mode at the beginning of Jewish holidays, automatically setting on/off times based on Zmanim API data, and providing user-friendly interfaces for scheduling Shabbat, Jewish holidays, and special events with editable times and actions for said lighting fixtures and devices (col. 2, lines 9-10, switches automatically activated according to selected schedule, col. 4, lines 33-36, internal clock automatically synchronized to National Bureau of Standards atomic clock and ensure that automation system running precisely on schedule based on Zmanim API data, col. 2, lines 36-42, lights and appliances turned on or off on Shabbos or Jewish Holidays). Regarding claim 8, Wollner discloses a method for controlling smart lighting and electrical appliances in a smart lighting home automation control system according to Jewish religious rules (Abstract, A home automation system for automatically controlling the electric lights and appliances in a Jewish family's home or Jewish institution. The system is preset to generate a regular schedules for Shabbos and Jewish Holidays based on the Jewish calendar and may also generate regular weekday scheduled events) comprising: a software programming application to automatically scheduling the operation of lights and appliances based on the Jewish calendar (col. 2, lines 56-60, automation program is running to control electric lights and appliances in the home on a preset schedule, program is written using the Visual Studio, col. 2, lines 42-46,A home automation system that is capable of automatically scheduling the control of these lights and appliances in accordance with Jewish law), and specific holiday requirements in said software programming application (col. 3, lines 9-17, The program controls electrical lights and appliances following "regular schedule" and schedule customized for family and based on Jewish calendar). In analogous art, Bloch also discloses controller for monitoring apparatus automatically activates holiday mode by combining a geographically determined Jewish religious (Fig. 1-2, para 24, wall light switch have particular utility for Jewish people by providing an article 10, Abstract, The control system automatically activates holiday mode by combining a geographically determined Jewish religious clock executed by software and hardware that utilizes current time, date and geographical location). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify teaching of home automation system, which can turn on or off numerous electric devices in a home according to a schedule preset according to religious activities disclosed by Wollner to use method for enabling Jewish people to control building and household lighting during religious holidays as taught by Bloch to activate a control system for automatically initiating the holiday mode at the beginning of a Jewish holiday and for automatically deactivating the holiday mode at the end of a Jewish holiday. [Bloch, para 009]. 9. Claims 4, 7, and 12-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over Wollner (US 6473661 B1) (hereinafter Wollner) in view of Bloch (US 20120223661 A1) (hereinafter Bloch) and further in view of KR 101984940 B1. . Regarding claim 4, Wollner fails to discloses the smart lighting home automation control system of claim 3, wherein the said software program is a SmartHome® Home Automation Program APP installed in said cellular smart phone. KR 101984940 B1 discloses the smart lighting home automation control system of claim 3, wherein the said software program is a SmartHome® Home Automation Program APP installed in said cellular smart phone (page 12, lines 11-16, 'Personal Voice AI' provided by 'Bixby' of' Samsung', 'Google' of 'Google' or 'Amazon Eco', 'Google Assistant' or 'Amazon Alexa', etc., smart home system 100 include a voice artificial intelligence device in itself, or provides a corresponding function through application for voice artificial intelligence function of the mobile communication terminal 300, controls device 200 together with voice recognition and guidance through the voice artificial intelligence apparatus). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify teaching of home automation system, which can turn on or off numerous electric devices in a home according to a schedule preset according to religious activities disclosed by Wollner and Bloch to use smart home system for controlling a device in the home through self-learning and for transmitting and receiving data with the device in the home as taught by KR 101984940 B1 to include a voice artificial intelligence device in itself, or provides a corresponding function through an application for voice artificial intelligence function of the mobile communication terminal. [KR 101984940 B1, page 12]. Regarding claim 7, Wollner discloses the smart lighting home automation control system of claim 1, further including: normal weekday programming functions, dimming capabilities, data memory retention during power failures, and various timing adjustments for optimal lighting fixture control and user convenience (col. 4, lines 38-43, The home automation system preferably includes a power fail recovery device so that in the event of a power failure, the system will restore all devices to the state that they are supposed to be at, either on or off, at the time of power restoration). Bloch teaches system provide the user with a greatly simplified means of programming an automatically adjusting on/off light timer and dimming overlay functionality during holiday mode (Abstract), and and color-tuning options, enabling voice command control, AI interfacing, synching with human biorhythms KR 101984940 B1 discloses a method for optimizing lighting control color-tuning options, enabling voice command control, AI interfacing, synching with human biorhythms (page 12, lines 11-16, 'Personal Voice AI' provided by 'Bixby' of' Samsung', 'Google' of 'Google' or 'Amazon Eco', 'Google Assistant' or 'Amazon Alexa', etc., smart home system 100 include a voice artificial intelligence device in itself, or provides a corresponding function through application for voice artificial intelligence function of the mobile communication terminal 300, controls device 200 together with voice recognition and guidance through the voice artificial intelligence apparatus). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify teaching of home automation system, which can turn on or off numerous electric devices in a home according to a schedule preset according to religious activities disclosed by Wollner and Bloch to use smart home system for controlling a device in the home through self-learning and for transmitting and receiving data with the device in home as taught by KR 101984940 B1 to use voice recognition and guidance through the voice artificial intelligence apparatus when above-mentioned event, recommendation event occurs, and scenario information is generated for situation awareness guide to users. [KR 101984940 B1, page 12]. Regarding claim 12, Wollner discloses a method for enhancing user experience for home automation system for automatically controlling the electric lights and appliances in a Jewish family's home or Jewish institution. The system is preset to generate a regular schedules for Shabbos and Jewish Holidays based on the Jewish calendar and may also generate regular weekday scheduled events {Abstract], and Bloch discloses as Fig. 1-2, and control system automatically activates holiday mode by combining a geographically determined Jewish religious clock executed by software utilizes current time, date and geographical location [Abstract], and KR 101984940 B1 discloses SmartHome® Home Automation Program APP, including: providing options for dimming lights, selecting color temperatures, enabling voice command control, and interfacing with virtual assistants like Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant for seamless operation (page 3, lines 21-23, as in FIG. 1, smart home system 100 where controls devices 200 disposed in a home such as an air conditioner, a light switch, a TV and the like, and page 12, lines 11-16, 'Personal Voice AI' provided by 'Bixby' of' Samsung', 'Google' of 'Google' or 'Amazon Eco', 'Google Assistant' or 'Amazon Alexa', etc., smart home system 100 include a voice artificial intelligence device in itself, or provides a corresponding function through an application for voice artificial intelligence function of the mobile communication terminal 300). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify teaching of home automation system, which can turn on or off numerous electric devices in a home according to a schedule preset according to religious activities disclosed by Wollner and Bloch to use smart home system for controlling a device in the home through self-learning and for transmitting and receiving data with the device in home as taught by KR 101984940 B1 to use voice recognition voice recognition device to control event information and the control according to the scenario may be executed. [KR 101984940 B1, page 12]. Regarding claim 13, Wollner discloses a method for ensuring compliance with Jewish customs and laws retaining data during power failures, setting do-not-disturb preferences, and adjusting lighting cycles based on Zmanim timings for optimal functionality (col. 4, lines 38-43, The home automation system preferably includes a power fail recovery device so that in the event of a power failure, the system will restore all devices to the state that they are supposed to be at, either on or off, at the time of power restoration, col. 4, lines 33-36, internal clock automatically synchronized to the National Bureau of Standards atomic clock and ensure that automation system is running precisely on schedule based on Zmanim API data, col. 2, lines 36-42, electric lights and other appliances to be turned on or off on Shabbos or Jewish Holidays). Bloch teaches system provide the user with a greatly simplified means of programming an automatically adjusting on/off light timer and dimming overlay functionality during holiday mode (Abstract), and KR 101984940 B1 discloses the SmartHome® Home Automation Program APP, of claim 12, further including: synchronizing with biorhythm lighting (page 12, lines 11-16, 'Personal Voice AI' provided by 'Bixby' of' Samsung', 'Google' of 'Google' or 'Amazon Eco', 'Google Assistant' or 'Amazon Alexa', etc., smart home system 100 include a voice artificial intelligence device in itself, or provides a corresponding function through an application for voice artificial intelligence function of the mobile communication terminal 300). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify teaching of home automation system, which can turn on or off numerous electric devices in a home according to a schedule preset according to religious activities disclosed by Wollner and Bloch to use smart home system for controlling a device in the home through self-learning and for transmitting and receiving data with the device in home as taught by KR 101984940 B1 to use smart system to outputs content including video, audio, and text to broadcast, document, and the like to notify users for events. [KR 101984940 B1, page 10]. Regarding claim 14, Wollner discloses a method for controlling building and household lighting fixtures during religious holidays of claim 13 further comprising: generating regular schedules for on/off times of devices based on the Jewish calendar and rules of Jewish religious activities, creating special schedules for specific needs or activities, and allowing manual selection between regular and special schedules for smart devices (col. 1, lines 29-35, electrical appliance used to turn devices on and off for maintaining the schedule Shabbos , as well as Yom Tov, starts at Sundown, col. 2, lines 38-46, per Jewish religious rules, electric lights and other appliances turned on or off on Shabbos or Jewish Holidays to observant Jew in typical Jewish home. A home automation system automatically scheduling control of t lights and appliances in accordance with Jewish law). Bloch teaches system provide the user with a greatly simplified means of programming an automatically adjusting on/off light timer and dimming overlay functionality during holiday mode (Abstract), and KR 101984940 B1 discloses controlling lighting fixtures during religious holidays in the SmartHome® Home Automation Program APP (page 12, lines 11-16, 'Personal Voice AI' provided by 'Bixby' of' Samsung', 'Google' of 'Google' or 'Amazon Eco', 'Google Assistant' or 'Amazon Alexa', etc., smart home system 100 include voice artificial intelligence device, or provides corresponding function through an application for voice artificial intelligence function of mobile communication terminal 300). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify teaching of home automation system, which can turn on or off numerous electric devices in a home according to a schedule preset according to religious activities disclosed by Wollner and Bloch to use smart home system for controlling a device in the home through self-learning and for transmitting and receiving data with the device in home as taught by KR 101984940 B1 to use smart home system to provide a notification message for notifying the user of events, recommended event information, control signals, and scenario control information through an application of the mobile communication terminal to notify users for events. [KR 101984940 B1, page 11]. Regarding claim 15, Wollner discloses a method for device performance before and after Shabbat or Yom Tov, ensuring energy savings and optimal lighting features in a Kosher home, and automatically synchronizing the clock with the National Bureau of Standards atomic clock (col. 2, lines 11-23, The regular schedule is set according to Jewish calendar and rules on Jewish religious activities while special schedule set according to length of day time in different seasons, automatically synchronizing clock in computer with National Bureau of Standards atomic clock). KR 101984940 B1 discloses the SmartHome® Home Automation Program APP, of claim 12, further including: synchronizing with biorhythm lighting (page 12, lines 11-16, 'Personal Voice AI' provided by 'Bixby' of' Samsung', 'Google' of 'Google' or 'Amazon Eco', 'Google Assistant' or 'Amazon Alexa', etc., smart home system 100 include a voice artificial intelligence device in itself, or provides a corresponding function through an application for voice artificial intelligence function of the mobile communication terminal 300). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify teaching of home automation system, which can turn on or off numerous electric devices in a home according to a schedule preset according to religious activities disclosed by Wollner and Bloch to use smart home system for controlling a device in the home through self-learning and for transmitting and receiving data with the device in home as taught by KR 101984940 B1 to use smart home system to provide a notification message for notifying the user of events, recommended event information, control signals, and scenario control information through an application of the mobile communication terminal to notify users for events. [KR 101984940 B1, page 11]. Regarding claim 16, Wollner discloses a method for facilitating functionality in accordance with Jewish law of claim 15 further comprising: selecting between normal and holiday modes to fix the state of switches during holidays, storing holiday calendars and detecting local conditions to enhance system operation, and providing user-friendly interfaces for scheduling Shabbat, Jewish holidays, and special events with editable times and actions for smart lighting fixtures and devices (col. 2, lines 9-10, The switches automatically activated according to selected schedule, col. 4, lines 33-36, internal clock automatically synchronized to the National Bureau of Standards atomic clock and ensure that automation system is running precisely on schedule based on Zmanim API data, col. 2, lines 36-42, electric lights and other appliances to be turned on or off on Shabbos or Jewish Holidays). . KR 101984940 B1 discloses a method for facilitating functionality in accordance with Jewish law in the SmartHome® Home Automation Program APP (page 12, lines 11-16, 'Personal Voice AI' provided by 'Bixby' of' Samsung', 'Google' of 'Google' or 'Amazon Eco', 'Google Assistant' or 'Amazon Alexa', etc., smart home system 100 include a voice artificial intelligence device in itself, or provides a corresponding function through an application for voice artificial intelligence function of the mobile communication terminal 300). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify teaching of home automation system, which can turn on or off numerous electric devices in a home according to a schedule preset according to religious activities disclosed by Wollner and Bloch to use smart home system for controlling a device in the home through self-learning and for transmitting and receiving data with the device in home as taught by KR 101984940 B1 to use voice recognition voice recognition device to control event information and the control according to the scenario may be executed. [KR 101984940 B1, page 12]. Regarding claim 17, Wollner discloses a method for optimizing lighting control and user convenience of claim 16 further comprising: implementing normal weekday programming functions, dimming capabilities, retaining data during power failures, and adjusting timing for optimal lighting based on user preferences (col. 4, lines 38-43, The home automation system preferably includes a power fail recovery device so that in the event of a power failure, the system will restore all devices to the state that they are supposed to be at, either on or off, at the time of power restoration), and Bloch teaches system provide the user with a greatly simplified means of programming an automatically adjusting on/off light timer and dimming overlay functionality during holiday mode (Abstract), and KR 101984940 B1 discloses a method for optimizing lighting control and user convenience in the SmartHome® Home Automation Program APP and color-tuning options, enabling voice command control, AI interfacing, synching with human biorhythms (page 12, lines 11-16, 'Personal Voice AI' provided by 'Bixby' of' Samsung', 'Google' of 'Google' or 'Amazon Eco', 'Google Assistant' or 'Amazon Alexa', etc., smart home system 100 include a voice artificial intelligence device in itself, or provides a corresponding function through application for voice artificial intelligence function of the mobile communication terminal 300, controls the device 200 together with voice recognition and guidance through the voice artificial intelligence apparatus). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify teaching of home automation system, which can turn on or off numerous electric devices in a home according to a schedule preset according to religious activities disclosed by Wollner and Bloch to use smart home system for controlling a device in the home through self-learning and for transmitting and receiving data with the device in home as taught by KR 101984940 B1 to use voice recognition and guidance through the voice artificial intelligence apparatus when above-mentioned event, recommendation event occurs, and scenario information is generated for situation awareness guide to users. [KR 101984940 B1, page 12]. 9. Claims 9-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over Wollner (US 6473661 B1) (hereinafter Wollner) in view of Bloch (US 20120223661 A1) (hereinafter Bloch) and further in view of Mathews (US 20190025782 A1). Regarding claim 9, Wollner and Bloch fails to discloses a method for managing smart devices in the smart lighting home automation control system of claim 8, wherein said software programming application also allows setting up user accounts with unique login credentials, allows multiple users to access and control the system, and enables seamless transitions between user accounts. In analogous art, Mathews discloses a method for managing smart devices in the smart lighting home automation control system of claim 8, wherein said software programming application also allows setting up user accounts with unique login credentials, allows multiple users to access and control the system, and enables seamless transitions between user accounts (para 88 electronic devices 522 with a corresponding user accounts, for setting up secure network connections, para 115, accounts administration module 714 for creating user accounts, and providing accounts login-services to client devices, para 141, devices 522 associated with user accounts, wherein such information includes cached login credentials, hub identifiers (e.g., MAC addresses and UUIDs), electronic device identifiers (e.g., MAC addresses and UUIDs), user interface settings). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify teaching of home automation system, which can turn on or off numerous electric devices in a home according to a schedule preset according to religious activities disclosed by Wollner and Bloch to use smart home system for controlling a device in the home through self-learning and for transmitting and receiving data with the device in home as taught by Mathews to use plurality of profiles for accounts registered with the video processing server, where a respective user profile includes accounts credentials for a respective reviewer accounts, and one or more video sources linked to the respective reviewer accounts to facilitates communications with one or more [Mathews, para 72]. Regarding claim 10, Wollner discloses a method for creating and editing schedules for Shabbat and Jewish holidays in the smart lighting home automation control system of claim 9, wherein said software programming application further allows selecting auto Shabbat scheduling options, customizing device actions, and integrating Zmanim API data for accurate timing (Abstract, A home automation system for automatically controlling electric lights and appliances in a Jewish family's home or Jewish institution and generate a regular schedules for Shabbos and Jewish Holidays based on Jewish calendar and update schedules remotely located monitoring system, col. 2, lines 56-60, automation program to control electric lights and appliances in the home on a preset schedule, program is written using the Visual Studio, col. 4, lines 33-36, internal clock automatically synchronized to the National Bureau of Standards atomic clock and ensure that automation system is running precisely on schedule based on Zmanim API data) . Regarding claim 11, Wollner discloses a method for configuring lighting and appliance schedules during Shabbat and Jewish holidays in the smart lighting home automation control system of claim 10, wherein said software programming application also further allows setting start and end times, adjusting brightness levels, and defining actions for individual devices or groups of devices based on user preferences and religious requirements (col. 2, lines 56-60, automation program is running to control electric lights and appliances in the home on a preset schedule, program is written using the Visual Studio, col. 3, lines 9-17, The program controls electrical lights and appliances following "regular schedule" and schedule is customized for each family and is based on Jewish calendar, Jewish law). Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Mirza Alam whose telephone number is (469) 295-9286. The examiner can be reached on Monday-Thursday 7:30AM-6:00PM (EST). If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Steven Lim can be reached on 571-270-1210. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for Published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /MIRZA F ALAM/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2688
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Prosecution Timeline

Jul 23, 2024
Application Filed
Sep 01, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §101, §103, §112 (current)

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Expected OA Rounds
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2y 4m (~2m remaining)
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