DETAILED ACTION
This communication is a first Office Action Non-Final rejection on the merits. Claims 1-18 as originally filed are currently pending and are considered below.
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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on August 22, 2024 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-9 and 11-18 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.
Reasons for Allowance
The most remarkable prior arts on record are to Li et al., Chinese Patent CN103455130 and Terkaoka et al., Japanese Patent Application JP206184418.
Li et al., is directed to method for energy-saving operation of the electronic shelf label, applied to the electronic shelf label and electronic shelf label for message exchange with the computer server through a wireless network method and operation method of display panel state transition. Li, et al., Abstract.
Terkaoka et al., is directed to an electronic shelf label system in which an electronic shelf label is arranged in the vicinity of a displayed product and the price of the product is displayed on the electronic shelf label. Terkaoka et al., Abstract.
Li et al., nor Terkaoka et al., teach the limitations of the claimed invention, wherein the display module is powered by a first supply voltage that is generated by a battery of the display device, the second radio interface is configured to receive radio signals according to an RFID or NFC specification, the second radio interface generates a second supply voltage, which is necessary for its operation, from the received radio signals, and the second radio interface is operated independently of the battery. Moreover, none of the prior art of record remedies the deficiencies found in Li et al. and Terkaoka et al. or could be combined with any other reference to produce the claimed invention.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Examiner Statement Regarding 35 USC 101
The claim recites the abstract idea of conducting a self-checkout, but amounts to significantly more than the idea itself with the additional element of a first microcontroller because the first microcontroller is configured to save energy, which is an improvement to the functioning of the electronic price label.
Claim Interpretation
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(f):
(f) Element in Claim for a Combination. – An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The claims in this application are given their broadest reasonable interpretation using the plain meaning of the claim language in light of the specification as it would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. The broadest reasonable interpretation of a claim element (also commonly referred to as a claim limitation) is limited by the description in the specification when 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is invoked.
As explained in MPEP § 2181, subsection I, claim limitations that meet the following three-prong test will be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
(A) the claim limitation uses the term “means” or “step” or a term used as a substitute for “means” that is a generic placeholder (also called a nonce term or a non-structural term having no specific structural meaning) for performing the claimed function;
(B) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is modified by functional language, typically, but not always linked by the transition word “for” (e.g., “means for”) or another linking word or phrase, such as “configured to” or “so that”; and
(C) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is not modified by sufficient structure, material, or acts for performing the claimed function.
Use of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim with functional language creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites sufficient structure, material, or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Absence of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is not to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is not interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites function without reciting sufficient structure, material or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Claim limitations in this application that use the word “means” (or “step”) are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action. Conversely, claim limitations in this application that do not use the word “means” (or “step”) are not being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action.
In the instant case Claim 1 recites: a first microcontroller that is “configured to.” Claim 3, the second radio interface is “configured to.” Claim 6, the first microcontroller is “configured to.” Claim 8, the first microcontroller “configured to.”
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 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.
Claim(s) 1 and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Abe et al., Japanese Publication JP201502988 in view of Xia et al., Chinese Patent #CN204576556.
As per Claim 1, Abe discloses a method of operating a display device, comprising:
displaying, by a display module of the display device, a price and/or product information (pg.2, discusses the electronic shelf label system 1 is a system for displaying information (product information) of products sold in a store using a plurality of ESL),
receiving, by the first radio interface in the active state, a product data set from a base station (pg.4, discusses when new product information is sent by the store controller 20, the ESL server 10 generates a command to be executed by the ESL 40 in order to update the product information displayed on the ESL 40…pg.5, discusses the base station 17 has a function of relaying between the ESL server 10 and the transceiver 18);
storing, by the first microcontroller in the active state, the product data set in a memory of the display device (Figure 4, Storage Unit 44a stores product name, product price, quantity stock and message);
receiving, by a second radio interface, a self-checkout request (pg.9, discusses the data (customer ID) of the membership card 30 is received by the second communication unit 41b, the data transmission unit 44d includes an identifier (device ID)unique to the ESL 40 that has received the data…As a result, information (purchase reservation information) related to the purchase reservation of the product associated with the ESL 40 is sent to the reserved product confirmation device 80) ; and
transmitting, by the second radio interface, the stored product data set in response to the self-checkout request received by the second radio interface (pg.9 discusses the data transmission unit 44d transmits the data and the device ID to the reserved product confirmation device 80 via the transceiver 18, the base station 17, and the ESL server 10 via the first communication unit 41a).
However, Abe fails to disclose the display module comprising a first microcontroller that is configured to make available an active state in which a first radio interface of the display module is ready for reception and a sleep state that is energy saving and in which there is no reception by the first radio interface.
Xia teaches a display module comprising a first microcontroller that is configured to make available an active state in which a first radio interface of the display module is ready for reception and a sleep state that is energy saving and in which there is no reception by the first radio interface (pg.2, discusses the MCU micro-control unit connected with the display screen…pg.4 discusses the MCU micro-control unit adopts the automatic power control (Automatic Power Control, APC) algorithm, can automatically according to the label base 20, adjusting the transmit power that minimizes electronic shelf label 100 of average power consumption).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have a microcontroller to adjust power in an electronic label as in the improvement discussed in Xia in the system executing the method of Abe. As in Xia, it is within the capabilities of one of ordinary skill in the art to lower the power consumption to the electronic price labels with the predicted result of conserving power in electronic price labels as needed in Abe.
As per Claim 10, Abe discloses a display device, comprising:
a memory (Figure 9; Storage Unit 44a)
a display module configured to display a price and/or product information (pg.2, discusses the electronic shelf label system 1 is a system for displaying information (product information) of products sold in a store using a plurality of ESL),
a first radio interface of the display module configured to receive, in an active state, a product data set from a base station (pg.4, discusses when new product information is sent by the store controller 20, the ESL server 10 generates a command to be executed by the ESL 40 in order to update the product information displayed on the ESL 40…pg.5, discusses the base station 17 has a function of relaying between the ESL server 10 and the transceiver 18);
store in the active state, the product data set in a memory (Figure 4, Storage Unit 44a stores product name, product price, quantity stock and message) and
receive a self-checkout request (pg.9, discusses the data (customer ID) of the membership card 30 is received by the second communication unit 41b, the data transmission unit 44d includes an identifier (device ID)unique to the ESL 40 that has received the data…As a result, information (purchase reservation information) related to the purchase reservation of the product associated with the ESL 40 is sent to the reserved product confirmation device 80); and
transmit the stored product data set in response to the received self-checkout request (pg.9 discusses the data transmission unit 44d transmits the data and the device ID to the reserved product confirmation device 80 via the transceiver 18, the base station 17, and the ESL server 10 via the first communication unit 41a).
However, Abe fails to disclose a first microcontroller of the display module, which is configured to: make available the active state in which the first radio interface is ready for reception and a sleep state that is energy saving and in which there is no reception at the first radio interface, and store, in the active state, the product data set in the memory.
Xia teaches a first microcontroller of the display module, which is configured to: make available the active state in which the first radio interface is ready for reception and a sleep state that is energy saving and in which there is no reception at the first radio interface, and store, in the active state, the product data set in the memory (pg.2, discusses the MCU micro-control unit connected with the display screen…pg.4 discusses the MCU micro-control unit adopts the automatic power control (Automatic Power Control, APC) algorithm, can automatically according to the label base 20, adjusting the transmit power that minimizes electronic shelf label 100 of average power consumption).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have a microcontroller to adjust power in an electronic label as in the improvement discussed in Xia in the system executing the method of Abe. As in Xia, it is within the capabilities of one of ordinary skill in the art to lower the power consumption to the electronic price labels with the predicted result of conserving power in electronic price labels as needed in Abe.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Gelbman, U.S. Patent Application Publication 202/0167500 discusses a smart electronic label employing electronic ink.
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/ASHFORD S HAYLES/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3627