DETAILED ACTION
Claims 1-19 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 .
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.
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.
Claim(s) 1-6 and 10-19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kim, Hyun-Hee, Kyung-Chang Lee, and Suk Lee. "Location-based human-adaptive air conditioning by measuring physical activity with a non-terminal-based indoor positioning system." Building and environment 62 (2013): 167-173 (hereinafter Kim).
Regarding claims 1-6 and 10-19, Kim discloses all the claimed limitations as outlined below:
Claim 1. A device control system comprising: a device that changes an environment of a target area; an environment detector that detects a state of the environment; a physical state detector that detects a physical state of a person; and a device control apparatus, wherein the device control apparatus includes target acquiring circuitry that acquires target information indicating a target state of action of multiple people in the target area, environment information acquiring circuitry that acquires environment information indicating a state of the environment of the target area including the multiple people, from the environment detector, physical state information acquiring circuitry that acquires physical state information indicating physical states of the multiple people, from the physical state detector, and controlling circuitry that controls the device such that states of action of the multiple people approach the target state, based on the target information, the environment information, and the physical state information, the device control apparatus determines the target information based on input operation, which is performed in order to change atmosphere of a place in the target area, of the person and sets the atmosphere of the place, which is adjusted by the device, to the target state (Fig. 1 and page 169 – Utilizing the PMV index according to metabolic rate and the intelligent service controller).
Claim 2. The device control system according to claim 1, wherein the target acquiring circuitry acquires the target information indicating the target state of the action as a target value indicating a level of activeness of the action of the multiple people, and the controlling circuitry calculates a current value indicating a level of activeness of the action of the multiple people based on the physical state information, and controls the device to obtain the environment where the current value approaches the target value (Fig. 1 and page 169 – Utilizing the PMV index according to metabolic rate and the intelligent service controller).
Claim 3. The device control system according to claim 2, wherein the controlling circuitry controls the device to obtain the environment where the activeness is enhanced if a difference between the current value and the target value is a predetermined first threshold or more and the current value is lower than the target value (Fig. 1 and page 169 – Utilizing the PMV index according to metabolic rate and the intelligent service controller).
Claim 4. The device control system according to claim 2, wherein the controlling circuitry controls the device to obtain the environment where the activeness is reduced if a difference between the current value and the target value is a predetermined second threshold or more and the current value is higher than the target value (Fig. 1 and page 169 – Utilizing the PMV index according to metabolic rate and the intelligent service controller).
Claim 5. The device control system according to claim 2, wherein the activeness of the action of the multiple people is a value calculated from activeness of action of each of the multiple people (Fig. 1 and page 169 – Utilizing the PMV index according to metabolic rate and the intelligent service controller).
Claim 6. The device control system according to claim 2, further comprising personal characteristic acquiring circuitry that acquires characteristic information indicating personal characteristics of the multiple people, wherein the activeness of the action of the multiple people is determined depending on the personal characteristics of the multiple people (Fig. 1 and page 169 – Utilizing the PMV index according to metabolic rate and the intelligent service controller).
Claim 10. The device control system according to claim 1, wherein environment detector is part of the device (Fig. 1 and page 169 – Utilizing the PMV index according to metabolic rate and the intelligent service controller).
Claim 11. The device control system according to claim 1,wherein the physical state detector includes at least one of first through fourth physical state sensors, the first physical state sensor detects at least one of heart rates, respiration rates, body temperatures, or blood pressures of the multiple people, the second physical state sensor detects motion of the multiple people, the third physical state sensor detects at least one of voice volumes, voice pitches, or speech speeds of the multiple people, and the fourth physical state sensor detects at least one of facial expressions or pupils of the multiple people (Fig. 1 and page 169 – Utilizing the PMV index according to metabolic rate and the intelligent service controller).
Claim 12. A device control apparatus that controls a device for changing an environment of a target area, the device control apparatus comprising: target acquiring circuitry that acquires target information indicating a target state of action of multiple people in the target area; environment information acquiring circuitry that acquires environment information indicating a state of the environment of the target area including the multiple people, from an environment detector that detects a state of the environment; physical state information acquiring circuitry that acquires physical state information indicating physical states of the multiple people, from a physical state detector that detects a physical state of a person; and controlling circuitry that controls the device such that states of action of the multiple people approach the target state, based on the target information, the environment information, and the physical state information, the device control apparatus determines the target information based on input operation, which is performed in order to change atmosphere of a place in the target area, of the person and sets the atmosphere of the place, which is adjusted by the device, to the target state (Fig. 1 and page 169 – Utilizing the PMV index according to metabolic rate and the intelligent service controller).
Claim 13. A device control method to be performed by a device control apparatus that controls a device for changing an environment of a target area, the method comprising: acquiring target information indicating a target state of action of multiple people in the target area; determining the target information based on input operation, which is performed in order to change atmosphere of a place in the target area, of the person and setting the atmosphere of the place, which is adjusted by the device, to the target state; acquiring environment information indicating a state of the environment of the target area including the multiple people, from an environment detector that detects the state of the environment; acquiring physical state information indicating physical states of the multiple people from a physical state detector that detects a physical state of a person; and controlling the device such that states of action of the multiple people approach the target state, based on the target information, the environment information, and the physical state information (Fig. 1 and page 169 – Utilizing the PMV index according to metabolic rate and the intelligent service controller).
Claim 14. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a device control program to be executed by a computer that controls a device for changing an environment of a target area, the device control program causing the computer to execute: acquiring target information indicating a target state of action of multiple people in the target area; determining the target information based on input operation, which is performed in order to change atmosphere of a place in the target area, of the person and setting the atmosphere of the place, which is adjusted by the device, to the target state; acquiring environment information indicating a state of the environment of the target area including the multiple people, from an environment detector that detects the state of the environment; acquiring physical state information indicating physical states of the multiple people, from a physical state detector that detects a physical state of a person; and controlling the device such that states of action of the multiple people approach the target state, based on the target information, the environment information, and the physical state information (Fig. 1 and page 169 – Utilizing the PMV index according to metabolic rate and the intelligent service controller).
Claim 15. The device control system according to claim 1, wherein the atmosphere of the place indicates activeness of action of the multiple people (Fig. 1 and page 169 – Utilizing the PMV index according to metabolic rate and the intelligent service controller).
Claim 16. The device control system according to claim 2, wherein the atmosphere of the place indicates activeness of action of the multiple people (Fig. 1 and page 169 – Utilizing the PMV index according to metabolic rate and the intelligent service controller).
Claim 17. The device control system according to claim 15, wherein the target information is automatically changed according to the activeness of action of the multiple people (Fig. 1 and page 169 – Utilizing the PMV index according to metabolic rate and the intelligent service controller).
Claim 18. The device control system according to claim 15, wherein the target information is determined according to priority of the person (Fig. 1 and page 169 – Utilizing the PMV index according to metabolic rate and the intelligent service controller).
Claim 19. The device control system according to claim 1, wherein the device control apparatus determines the target information that are different for places in the target area (Fig. 1 and page 169 – Utilizing the PMV index according to metabolic rate and the intelligent service controller).
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 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.
Claims 7-9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim, Hyun-Hee, Kyung-Chang Lee, and Suk Lee. "Location-based human-adaptive air conditioning by measuring physical activity with a non-terminal-based indoor positioning system." Building and environment 62 (2013): 167-173 (hereinafter Kim) in view of Fadell et al., US Patent No. 9,872,088 (hereinafter Fadell).
Regarding claims 7-9, Kim discloses all the limitations of the base claims as outlined above.
Kim fails to clearly specify:
Claim 7. The device control system according to claim 1,wherein the device includes at least one of first through fourth electric devices, the first electric device changes at least one of temperature, humidity, airflow, smell, or air quality, the second electric device changes at least one of brightness, color, or illumination effect in the target area, the third electric device provides at least one of video or sound in the target area, and the fourth electric device performs at least one of opening/closing of a window, opening/closing of a window blind, or opening/closing of a door in the target area.
Claim 8. The device control system according to claim 7, wherein the first electric device includes at least one of an air conditioner, an electric fan, a ventilator, a humidifier, an aroma diffuser, or an air cleaner, the second electric device includes an illumination device, the third electric device includes at least one of a video device or an audio device, and the fourth electric device includes at least one of an electric window, an electric door, or an electric blind.
Claim 9. The device control system according to claim 1, wherein the environment detector includes at least one of first through fourth environment sensors, the first environment sensor detects at least one of temperature, humidity, airflow, smell, or air quality in the target area, the second environment sensor detects at least one of brightness, color, or illumination effect in the target area, the third environment sensor detects at least one of video or sound provided in the target area, and the fourth environment sensor detects at least one of an opening/closing state of a window, an opening/closing state of a window blind, or an opening/closing state of a door in the target area.
However, Fadell teaches:
Claim 7. The device control system according to claim 1,wherein the device includes at least one of first through fourth electric devices, the first electric device changes at least one of temperature, humidity, airflow, smell, or air quality, the second electric device changes at least one of brightness, color, or illumination effect in the target area, the third electric device provides at least one of video or sound in the target area, and the fourth electric device performs at least one of opening/closing of a window, opening/closing of a window blind, or opening/closing of a door in the target area (Fig 2 and C5 L9-23).
Claim 8. The device control system according to claim 7, wherein the first electric device includes at least one of an air conditioner, an electric fan, a ventilator, a humidifier, an aroma diffuser, or an air cleaner, the second electric device includes an illumination device, the third electric device includes at least one of a video device or an audio device, and the fourth electric device includes at least one of an electric window, an electric door, or an electric blind (Fig 2 and C5 L9-23).
Claim 9. The device control system according to claim 1, wherein the environment detector includes at least one of first through fourth environment sensors, the first environment sensor detects at least one of temperature, humidity, airflow, smell, or air quality in the target area, the second environment sensor detects at least one of brightness, color, or illumination effect in the target area, the third environment sensor detects at least one of video or sound provided in the target area, and the fourth environment sensor detects at least one of an opening/closing state of a window, an opening/closing state of a window blind, or an opening/closing state of a door in the target are (Fig 2 and C5 L9-23).
The applied prior art is considered analogous art to the claimed invention because they relate to same field of endeavor. They relate to monitoring and reporting household activities.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the above physical activity measuring system, as taught by Kim, and incorporating the concept of smart home control system, as taught by Fadell.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to do this modification in order to provide adaptive capabilities in evolving households, as suggested by Fadell (See C1 L30-35).
Citation of Pertinent Prior Art
The following prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
1. Sadhu, US Patent Application Publication No. 2015/0223705 – relates to multifunction user wearable portable device and cloud-based services.
Conclusion
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/CARLOS R ORTIZ RODRIGUEZ/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2119
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