DETAILED ACTION
Acknowledgement is made of the preliminary amendment submitted on 07/09/2025. In virtue of this amendments:
Claim 1 is canceled;
Claims 2-32 are newly added; and thus,
Claims 2-32 are pending;
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of this application’s status as a continuation of application 17/542,199 now patent 12,120,798 filed on 12/03/2021 which claims priority under 35 U.S.C § 119(e) to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. 63/121,537 filed on 12/4/2020.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 08/16/2024 has been considered by the examiner.
Double Patenting
The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP § 2146 et seq. for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
The filing of a terminal disclaimer by itself is not a complete reply to a nonstatutory double patenting (NSDP) rejection. A complete reply requires that the terminal disclaimer be accompanied by a reply requesting reconsideration of the prior Office action. Even where the NSDP rejection is provisional the reply must be complete. See MPEP § 804, subsection I.B.1. For a reply to a non-final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.111(a). For a reply to final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.113(c). A request for reconsideration while not provided for in 37 CFR 1.113(c) may be filed after final for consideration. See MPEP §§ 706.07(e) and 714.13.
The USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The actual filing date of the application in which the form is filed determines what form (e.g., PTO/SB/25, PTO/SB/26, PTO/AIA /25, or PTO/AIA /26) should be used. A web-based eTerminal Disclaimer may be filled out completely online using web-screens. An eTerminal Disclaimer that meets all requirements is auto-processed and approved immediately upon submission. For more information about eTerminal Disclaimers, refer to www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/applying-online/eterminal-disclaimer.
Claims 2-32 rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-31 of U.S. Patent No. 12,120,798 hereinafter “Patent’798” in view of US2017/0041886A1 hereinafter “Baker”
Instant Application
U.S. Patent No. 12,120,798
2. A load control system for controlling a plurality of lighting loads located in a space, the load control system comprising:
a system controller; and
a plurality of lighting control devices installed in the space, each lighting control device of the plurality of lighting control devices configured to
control at least one respective lighting load of the plurality of lighting loads,
each lighting control device of the plurality of lighting control devices further configured to:
receive beacon messages from a tracked device in the space, the beacon messages including a beacon identifier of the tracked device; and
transmit tracking data associated with the tracked device to the system controller, the tracking data including the beacon identifier of the tracked device; and wherein
the system controller is configured to:
transmit, to one or more lighting control devices of the plurality of lighting control devices to be controlled based on the association information, one or more messages including commands for controlling the respective lighting loads;
receive the tracking data associated with the tracked device from the one or more lighting control devices of the plurality of lighting control devices; and
determine, based on the association information of the area data stored in the memory and the tracking data received from the one or more lighting control devices of the plurality of lighting control devices, an area location or a fixture location for the tracked device, wherein the area location identifies one of the respective area identifiers of the plurality of areas of the area data and the fixture location identifies one or more of the respective device identifiers of the plurality of lighting control devices.
1. A load control system for controlling a plurality of lighting loads located in a space, the load control system comprising:
a system controller configured to transmit and receive messages via a wireless communication network;
a plurality of lighting control devices installed in the space,
each lighting control device of the plurality of lighting control devices configured to receive the messages from the system controller via the wireless communication network, and
control at least one respective lighting load of the plurality of lighting loads in response to the messages,
each lighting control device of the plurality of lighting control devices further configured to:
receive beacon messages from a tracked device in the space, the beacon messages including a beacon identifier of the tracked device; and
transmit tracking data associated with the tracked device to the system controller, the tracking data including the beacon identifier of the tracked device and a processed communication quality metric associated with the tracked device; and wherein
the system controller is configured to:
receive configuration data associated with each lighting control device of the plurality of lighting control devices, wherein the configuration data for each lighting control device of the plurality of lighting control devices identifies a respective area location or a respective fixture location within an area few in which the lighting control device is installed;
transmit, based on the respective area location or the respective fixture location identified for one or more lighting control devices in the configuration data, one or more messages to the one or more lighting control devices of the plurality of lighting control devices for controlling the at least one respective lighting load;
receive tracking data for the tracked device from the one or more lighting control devices of the plurality of lighting control devices, wherein each of the tracking data comprises the processed communication quality metric associated with the tracked device; and
determine a location of the tracked device, wherein the location of the tracked device is determined based on the processed communication quality metric comprised within each of the tracking data from the one or more lighting control devices of the plurality of lighting control devices and the at least one of the respective area location or the respective fixture location identified in the configuration data for the one or more lighting control devices, wherein
the location of the tracked device relates to one of the respective area location or the respective fixture location of the one or more lighting control devices.
Claim 1 of Patent’798 not expclitly claim:
store, in memory, area data defining respective area identifiers for a plurality of areas of the load control system, wherein each of the plurality of lighting control device is associated with one of the plurality of areas in the area data;
store association information defining respective device identifiers for the plurality of lighting control devices of the load control system
Baker discloses a load control system including control device wherein a system controller
store, in memory, area data defining respective area identifiers for a plurality of areas of the load control system (¶99L1-24: the zone configuration may be sent to the system controller for being stored) wherein each of the plurality of lighting control device is associated with one of the plurality of areas in the area data (¶168L1-9: the system controller include the device identifier of the light fixture located in the zones)
store association information defining respective device identifiers for the plurality of lighting control devices of the load control system (¶102L1-26: the zone configuration include association information for control-source devices configured to control associated lighting fixtures in the zone configuration)
It would have been obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art to modify the claimed invention from claim 1 of Patent’798 to incorporate the zone information and/or zone control of Baker.
One of ordinary skill in the art would’ve been motivated because this allows the system to control multiple lighting devices at once, in a custom area suitable to the user’s preference.
Regarding claims 22-27, the claims recites similar limitations as claims 4-7 of Patent’798 and thus are not patentably distinct from each other.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-32 would be allowable when a terminal disclaimer is filed and approved to overcome the double patent rejection set forth in this Office action.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to RAYMOND R CHAI whose telephone number is (571)270-0576. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:30AM-5:00PM.
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, Alexander H Taningco can be reached at (571)272-8048. 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.
/Raymond R Chai/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2844