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 .
Claim Status
Claims 1-42 are currently pending.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 09-03-2024; 02-28-2025; 06-09-2025; 07-10-2025 and 03-05-2026 have been considered by the examiner.
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) 1-13, 15, 20-26, 28-31 and 33-42 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over GERSTBERGER (US Patent 11,349,707) in view of ROVITO (US Pub. 2018/0063150).
Regarding claims 1, 21 and 28,
GERSTBERGER teaches a system for controlling a plurality of smart devices of a property, the system comprising:
a smart hub associated with the unit (col. 26:9-11 teaches a smart-home hub device 1112, also known as a home automation hub, gateway device, etc.), the smart hub comprising:
a housing (see 1112 in fig. 11);
one or more processors in the housing (1252 in fig. 13);
a first bi-directional low-power wide area network (LPWAN) communication interface in the housing and configured to communicatively couple the one or more processors to the property management platform via a LPWAN communication link (col. 26:65 - col. 27:8 teaches that the hub may communicate via LPWAN protocol - thereby teaching an interface for facilitation of said communication protocol); and
a second bi-directional non-LPWAN communication interface in the housing and configured to communicatively couple the one or more processors to the plurality of smart devices via a non-LPWAN communication link(col. 26:65 - col. 27:8 teaches that the hub may also communicate via Wi-Fi, X10, Ethernet, Bluetooth LE, Zigwave, Zigbee etc - all of which correspond to non-LPWAN protocols - thereby teaching an interface for facilitation of said communication protocol),
where the one or more processors are configured to:
receive, from the property management platform via the LPWAN communication link, a request for status of a smart device of the plurality of smart devices, request status of the smart device via the non-LPWAN communication link, and transmit, in response to the received request for status, the status of the smart device to the property management platform via the LPWAN communication link (column 26:65-col. 27:8 teaches utilization of LPWAN protocol. Fig. 11 teaches hub 1112 in communication with 1106 wherein the LPWAN protocol may be employed at least between hub 1112 and 1106, or as an alternative to 1104. Col. 26:65-col. 27:8 teaches non-LPWAN protocols. With respect to fig. 11, it follows that the communication paths between 1112 and any of 1114, 1130 and/or 1116 may utilize non-LPWAN protocol as required by the claim.)
Gerstberger fails to expressly teach that the hub communicates with a property management platform as recited, or that the hub communicates via LPWAN and non-LPWAN with said property management platform and smart device, respectively, so as to communicate status information of said smart devices.
ROVITO teaches a system for controlling a plurality of smart devices of a multi-family residential or commercial property, the system comprising:
a property management platform ([0017] teaches a property management platform in disclosing a networked environment 10 which includes a computing environment 20 operating as an automation management service environment, a network 40, various units or dwellings 50-53, various automation devices 60-63 in the dwelling 50, and a client device 70) configured to provide property management and security functionality, the property management platform configured for accessibility by a user associated with a unit ([0032] teaches that in a building shared by several residents, information may specify that all residents of the building have the right to access the features of the automation device) of the multi-family residential or commercial property and by a representative associated with the multi-family residential or commercial property([0034] teaches management by a user having administrator or manager credentials), the property management platform configured to reside at a location other than the multi-family residential or commercial property ([0019] teaches that although the dwellings 50-53 are illustrated as separate homes in FIG. 1, the concepts described can be extended or applied to any number of rooms, cooperative units, condo units, apartment units, townhomes, single family homes, student housing units, military housing units, corporate housing units, office spaces, other work and dwelling spaces, and combinations thereof. In fig. 1, management platform 20 is illustrated as remote from the residential/commercial property); and
a smart hub associated with the unit ([0017] teaches smart hub in its disclosure of a computing device 30 which operates as an automation hub or gateway), the smart hub comprising: one or more processors ([0085]) and where the one or more processors are configured to: receive, from the property management platform via the LPWAN communication link, a request for status of a smart device of the plurality of smart devices, request status of the smart device via the non-LPWAN communication link, and transmit, in response to the received request for status, the status of the smart device to the property management platform via the LPWAN communication link ([0025] teaches that a management engine 22 is configured to control the settings and monitor the status of the automation devices 60-63 in the dwelling 50 in a managed, coordinated manner. Similarly, the management engine 22 is configured to control the settings and monitor the status of other automation devices in the dwellings 51-53 in a managed, coordinated manner; [0029]-[0031] teaches that automation data includes at least smart device status information; [0036] teaches providing the ability of administrators and residents to view, define, and/or modify the automation data 25 based upon rules or conventions as defined by the access control rules 27 and/or the roles and permissions 28.)
Before the effective filing date of the invention, it would have been obvious to combine the teachings of Gerstberger and Rovito such that the smart hub device of Gerstberger is also capable to communicating with a property management platform as recited, for the purpose of providing a management interface in the dwelling automation system capable of generating a user interface for administering commands to a plurality of automation devices across a plurality of different dwellings based on access and control rights of the user.
Regarding claims 2, 3 and 4,
The combined teachings of Gerstberger and Rovito disclose that the smart hub is configured to reside in the unit; the smart hub is associated with a second unit and where the smart hub is configured to reside in the unit or in the second unit (Rovito teaches in [0019] that the dwellings 50-53 can be extended or applied to any number of rooms, cooperative units, condo units, apartment units, student housing units, military housing units, corporate housing units, office spaces and dwelling spaces. Col. 27:35-43 and Fig. 11 of Gerstberger teaches that VA device 1130 may not be a separate component from the hub device 1112 and/or from the signaling device 1128. Given that the signaling device 1128 and VA device 1130 are located within a unit, Gerstberger therefore teach that the smart hub 1112 is configured to reside within one or more units as recited.)
Regarding claim 5,
Rovito teaches that the one or more processors are configured to: receive, from the property management platform via the LPWAN communication link, a second request for status of a second smart device associated with the second unit, request status of the second smart device associated with the second unit via the non-LPWAN communication link, and transmit, in response to the received request for status, the status of the second smart device associated with the second unit to the property management platform via the LPWAN communication link ([0025] teaches that management engine 22 is configured to control the settings and monitor the status of the automation devices 60-63 in the dwelling 50 in a managed, coordinated manner in the dwellings 51-53, [0029]-[0031] teaches that automation data includes at least smart device status information; [0036] teaches providing the ability of administrators and residents to view, define, and/or modify the automation data 25 based upon rules or conventions as defined by the access control rules 27 and/or the roles and permissions 28. )
Regarding claim 6,
Rovito teaches that the one or more processors are further configured to: receive, from the property management platform via the LPWAN communication link, a request for status of another smart device of the plurality of smart devices that comprises another type of smart device; request status of the another smart device via the non-LPWAN communication link; and transmit, in response to the received request for status of the another smart device, the status of the another smart device via the LPWAN communication link ([0029] teaches that automation data 25 (which comprises status information) also includes data related to the current state and status of the automation devices 60-63 at the dwelling 50.)
Regarding claim 7,
Gerstberger teaches that the first LPWAN communication interface is a long-range wide area network (LoRaWAN) interface (col. 26:65-col. 27:7 teaches configuring the hub to communicate via LoRaWAN protocol).
Regarding claim 8,
Gerstberger teaches a gateway, where the first bi-directional LPWAN communication interface of the smart hub is configured to communicatively couple the one or more processors to the gateway via the LPWAN communication link and where the gateway is configured to communicatively couple to the property management platform via a non-LPWAN communication link (col. 26:47-50 teaches that VA device 1130 may alternatively be referred to as a gateway).
Regarding claim 9,
Gerstberger teaches that the property management platform is configured to communicate with a system of a third party service provider(col. 28:25-31 teaches that the monitoring service 1126 may be operated by a third-party company).
Regarding claim 10,
Rovito teaches that the property management platform is configured to communicate the status of the smart device to a cloud-based service via the Internet ([0018] teaches a networked environment 10 may include cloud-based servers).
Regarding claim 11,
Rovito teaches that the smart device comprises an electronic door lock, and where the property management platform is configured to: determine the unit is vacant; and signal, in response to determining the unit is vacant, the smart hub to disable access credentials of the electronic door lock associated with a former resident of the unit and to adjust another one or more smart devices of the plurality of smart devices ([0012] teaches monitoring and control of heating/cooling systems by a manager when the unit is vacant).
Regarding claim 12,
Rovito teaches that the property management platform is configured to automatically determine the unit is vacant based on a database comprising move-out dates ([0074], Fig. 4 teaches that the status can be manually set to occupied, vacant, or automatically identified as occupied or vacant based on whether a specific date has been reached.)
Regarding claim 13,
Rovito teaches that the property management platform is configured to automatically signal the smart hub in response to determining the unit is vacant ([0063] teaches that an administrator or other user can filter a list of units by status (e.g., vacant, occupied, etc.) and collectively administer settings for all units having a particular status.)
Regarding claim 15,
Rovito teaches that the property management platform is configured to, in response to determining the unit is vacant, signal the smart hub to adjust a thermostat of the unit to a predetermined temperature ([0012]).
Regarding claims 20 and 22,
Rovito teaches that the smart device comprises an electronic door lock, a smart thermostat, a smart hub, a smart light bulb or a leak detection device([0029] teaches that the automation data 25 can include data related to the current state of doors (e.g., locked, unlocked, etc.), thermostats (e.g., current and set-point temperatures, schedules, etc.), lights, alarms, appliances, windows, and other aspects of home automation.)
Regarding claim 23,
Gerstberger teaches that the LPWAN communication link comprises a long-range wide area network (LoRaWAN) communication link (col. 26:65-col. 27:7 teaches configuring the hub to communicate via LoRaWAN protocol).
Regarding claim 24,
Gerstberger teaches that the LPWAN communication link is between the smart hub and a gateway (Fig. 11 teaches communication between hub 1112 and gateway 1130 per
col. 26:47-50 which teaches VA may be a gateway; while col. 26:65-col. 27:8 teaches using LPWAN communication protocol).
Regarding claim 25,
Gerstberger teaches receiving via the LPWAN communication link comprises receiving from one or more of a plurality of gateways residing at the multi-family residential or commercial property, where the plurality of gateways includes the gateway ([0019] teaches the method may be applied to a multi-family environment e.g., apartments, condo unite etc.).
Regarding claim 26,
Rovito teaches transmitting, by the one or more processors and via the Internet, the status of the smart device to a cloud-based service([0018] teaches a networked environment 10 may include cloud-based servers).
Regarding claims 29, 30 and 31,
Rovito teaches that the smart hub is associated with the unit; the smart hub is configured to reside in the unit; the smart hub is associated with a second unit of the multi-family residential or commercial property. (Rovito teaches in [0019] that the dwellings 50-53 can be extended or applied to any number of rooms, cooperative units, condo units, apartment units, student housing units, military housing units, corporate housing units, office spaces and dwelling spaces. While Col. 27:35-43 and Fig. 11 of Gerstberger teaches that VA device 1130 may not be a separate component from the hub device 1112 and/or from the signaling device 1128. Given that the signaling device 1128 and VA device 1130 are located within a unit, Gerstberger therefore teach that the smart hub 1112 is configured to reside within one or more units as recited.)
Regarding claim 33,
The combined disclosures of Gerstberger and Rovito teach that the smart hub is part of a system for controlling the plurality of smart devices (fig. 11 of Gerstberger), including the smart device (1126, 1130 in fig., 11 of Gerstberger1), associated with the unit of the multi-family residential or commercial property ([0019] of Rovito).
Regarding claim 34,
Rovito teaches that the smart device comprises an electronic door lock, a smart thermostat, a smart hub, a smart light bulb or a leak detection device ([0029] teaches the automation data 25 can include data related to the current state of doors (e.g., locked, unlocked, etc.), thermostats (e.g., current and set-point temperatures, schedules, etc.), lights, alarms, appliances, windows, and other aspects of home automation.)
Regarding claim 35,
Rovito teaches that the smart hub receives property management and security functionality from the property management platform ([0037] teaches that management platform 20 is used to access security related roles).
Regarding claim 36,
Gerstberger teaches that the the LPWAN communication link comprises a long-range wide area network (LoRaWAN) communication link (col. 26:65-col. 27:7 teaches configuring the hub to communicate via LoRaWAN protocol).
Regarding claim 37,
Gerstberger teaches that the non-LPWAN communication link comprises at least one of a Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) communication link, a ZigBee communication link, a Bluetooth communication link, and a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) communication link (col. 26:65-col. 27:8).
Regarding claim 38,
Gerstberger teaches that the smart hub is configured to be communicatively coupled to the plurality of smart devices via the non-LPWAN communication link, the plurality of smart devices including the smart device and a second smart device, where the smart device comprises an electronic door lock and the second smart device comprises a smart thermostat (Fig. 11 teaches coupling to plural smart devices (1114, 1116, 1130) via non-LPWAN; also see col. 26:65-col. 27:8).
Regarding claim 39,
Gerstberger teaches that the smart device comprises smart thermostat, and where the one or more processors are further configured to: receive additional control information from the property management platform via the LPWAN communication link, the additional control information including one or more thermostat parameters; and transmit one or more thermostat commands to the smart thermostat via the non-LPWAN communication link to instruct a HVAC controller based on the one or more thermostat parameters ([0032] teaches controlling an automation device including changing the temperature of a thermostat).
Regarding claim 40,
Gerstberger teaches that the one or more thermostat parameters control a temperature setting, a thermostat operating mode, or both; and the thermostat operating mode is configurable to change between a heating mode, a cooling mode, and an off mode (col. 26:32-37 teaches control and automation of heating (via thermostat) and air conditioning unit).
Regarding claim 41,
Gerstberger teaches that the one or more processors are further configured to: receive additional control information from the property management platform via the LPWAN communication link, the additional control information identifying a smart light fixture of the plurality of smart devices and including information indicating to turn off the smart light fixture or turn on the smart light fixture; generate one or more light fixture commands configured to turn off the smart light fixture or turn on the smart light fixture based on the additional control information; and transmit the one or more light fixture commands to the smart light fixture via the non-LPWAN communication link (see the rejection of claim 5 above; additionally, col. 26:32-31 teaches control of a lighting automation device; also see col. 27:52-55).
Regarding claim 42,
Gerstberger teaches that the additional control information comprises scheduling information that identifies a first time and a second time that is different from the first time; the first time corresponds to a time to turn on the smart light fixture and the second time corresponds to a time to turn off the smart light fixture; and the one or more light fixture commands comprise a first light fixture command to turn on the smart light fixture at the first time and a second light fixture command to turn off the smart light fixture at the second time (col. 36:30-34 teaches controlling lighting automation devices according to an activation schedule).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 14, 16-19, 27 and 32 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.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DIONNE PENDLETON whose telephone number is (571)272-7497. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9a-5pm.
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/DIONNE PENDLETON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2689