DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claims 1-6 are presented for examination.
The title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 9/27/24 and 8/14/25 were considered by the examiner. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
5. The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
6. Claims 1 and 3-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)/(a)(2) as being anticipated by Miyamoto et al. (Miyamoto), US publication no. 2007/0112909 A11.
As per claim 1, Miyamoto discloses a service setting device [figure 1], comprising: processing circuitry to collect functional information [configuration table] indicating functions of devices connected to a home network [para 28, 37, 60],
modify the functional information when the collected functional information indicates that at least one device of the devices has a plurality of functions [para 48, 56]; identify, based on the modified functional information and a list associating services and functions necessary for the services, an available service that is available by combining the functions of the devices [para 77, 82], and
cause the identified available service to be displayed [figure 6; para 103].
Miyamoto teaches:
[0028] The device configuration table 20 is a table describing the information device information (i.e., the information appliance 22) therein, which are necessary for executing a higher-ranked service 21, in cooperation with functions 23 of providing basic services, which are provided by the plural numbers of information appliances with using the UPnP and/or Jini, etc.
[0082] FIG. 6 shows an example of the table for showing the device management table 40. The device management table 40 is constructed with a list of the services 41, which
can be provided to the user, a list of the information appliance(s) building up the services, a list of the unique ID 43 of the information appliance(s), and list of the functions, which the information appliance(s) provide(s). When the device configuration table 20 is installed into the information appliance c 80 or the home server 100, then the apparatus being installed there with makes search for the information within the home network 2 and the functions, which the respective information appliances provide, and from the search result thereof, comparison is made between the information appliances and the functions building up the services, so as to pick up the service(s) available to the user from the list of the services 21, and thereby procuring the device management table 40 to be registered into the device management table storage portion 106.
[0103] With using the method of the former, the Web browser must be installed into the terminal for displaying the user interface, and with the latter, a client is needed for
controlling the application 110 on the TV side, while for the application 110 is necessary a function for providing the user interface to other terminal through the UPnP.
As per claim 3, Miyamoto discloses the processing circuitry performs, on target devices among the devices connected to the home network, settings including a setting of a control logic that is necessary, to achieve the identified available service [figure 1; para 77-82].
As per claim 4, Miyamoto discloses the processing circuitry causes a connection between the target devices among the devices connected to the home network to be established so as to allow the plurality of target devices to cooperate, and thereby
provides the available service [para 77-82].
As to claim 5, contained the same limitation as claim 1; in addition, Miyamoto discloses a home control system in which devices and a service setting device are connected to a home network [figure 1]. Therefore, same rejection is applied.
As to claim 6, claim 1 basically is the corresponding elements that are carried out the method of operating step in claim 1. Accordingly, claim 6 is rejected for the same reason as set forth in claim 1.
Allowable Subject Matter
7. Claim 2 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.
8. The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: the prior art of records do not teach: in claim 2, modifies the functional information so as to retain, among the plurality of functions that each of the at
least one device has, only a function selected by a user, identifies an unavailable service that is unavailable even by combining the functions of the devices
connected to the home network, and selects a missing device having a function missing to achieve the identified unavailable service.
9. Examiner's note: Examiner has cited particular paragraphs and columns and line numbers in the references as applied to the claims above for the convenience of the applicant. Although the specified citations are representative of the teachings of the art and are applied to the specific limitations within the individual claim, other passages and figures may apply as well. It is respectfully requested from the applicant in preparing responses, to fully consider the references in entirety as potentially teaching all or part of the claimed invention, as well as the context of the passage as taught by the prior art or disclosed by the examiner. MPEP 2141.02 VI: “PRIOR ART MUST BE CONSIDERED IN ITS ENTIRETY, INCLUDING DISCLOSURES THAT TEACH AWAY FROM THE CLAIMS."
10. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant’s disclosure.
Sagar, WO 02/23802 A2, discloses internet services for consumer electronic devices; and the service application identifies applications that utilize a plurality of the functional elements on the user's network; and the user has the option of selecting one or more of these applications for installation.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHUN CAO whose telephone number is (571)272-3664. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F 7:30 am-4:00 pm.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Kamini Shah can be reached on 571-272-2279. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/CHUN CAO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2115
1 Miyamoto is cited by applicant.
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