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 .
DETAILED ACTION
This communication is in response to application filed on 9/18/2024 in which claims 1-19 are pending.
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant's claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d). The certified copy has been filed in Japan parent application No. 2022-064160 on 04/07/2022.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 9/18/2024, and 6/27/2025 is/are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Specification
Objection to the Title
TITLE OF THE INVENTION: See 37 CFR 1.72(a) and MPEP § 606. The title of the
invention should be placed at the top of the first page of the specification unless the title is provided in an application data sheet. The title of the invention should be brief but technically accurate and descriptive. The title of the disclosure is objected to because the current title, “DEVICE SETTING SUPPORT METHOD AND SERVER DEVICE”, is more indicative of a general category/subject to which claims are directed. While the current title describes the invention it does so in a very general sense and is not clearly indicative of the claimed invention. It lacks the necessary detail to differentiate Applicant's communication apparatus. If a satisfactory title is not supplied by the Applicant, the Examiner may, at the time of allowance, change the title by Examiner's Amendment pursuant to MPEP 606.01.
Objection to the Abstract
The content of a patent abstract should be such as to enable the reader thereof,
regardless of his or her degree of familiarity with patent documents, to determine quickly from a cursory inspection of the abstract the nature and gist of the technical disclosure and that which is new in the art to which the invention pertains (MPEP 608.01 (b)). The abstract of the disclosure is objected to because the current abstract merely repeats the claim language and does not enable the reader thereof to determine the nature and gist of the technical disclosure and that which is new in the art to which the invention pertains. Correction is required. See MPEP § 608.01 (b).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor, or for pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
Claims 1, 15, and 19: The term "communicably" in line 1 is a relative term which renders the claim indefinite. The term "communicably" is not defined by the claim, the specification does not provide a standard for ascertaining the requisite degree, and one of ordinary skill in the art would not be reasonably apprised of the scope of the invention.
Claim 15: The term "electrically" in line 3 is a relative term which renders the claim indefinite. The term "electrically" is not defined by the claim, the specification does not provide a standard for ascertaining the requisite degree, and one of ordinary skill in the art would not be reasonably apprised of the scope of the invention.
Claims 2, 3: The term "whether or not" in line 2 is a relative term which renders the claim indefinite. The term "whether or not" is not defined by the claim, the specification does not provide a standard for ascertaining the requisite degree, and one of ordinary skill in the art would not be reasonably apprised of the scope of the invention.
Claims 2, and 3: The term "appropriate" in lines 2 and 5 is a relative term which renders the claim indefinite. The term "appropriate" is not defined by the claim, the specification does not provide a standard for ascertaining the requisite degree, and one of ordinary skill in the art would not be reasonably apprised of the scope of the invention.
Claims 1, 2, 4, 8, and 19: The term "perform" in line 4 is a relative term which renders the claim indefinite. The term "perform" is not defined by the claim, the specification does not provide a standard for ascertaining the requisite degree, and one of ordinary skill in the art would not be reasonably apprised of the scope of the invention.
Claims 4, and 8: The term "set" in line 5 is a relative term which renders the claim indefinite. The term "set" is not defined by the claim, the specification does not provide a standard for ascertaining the requisite degree, and one of ordinary skill in the art would not be reasonably apprised of the scope of the invention.
Claims 7, and 11: The term "association" in line 6 is a relative term which renders the claim indefinite. The term "association" is not defined by the claim, the specification does not provide a standard for ascertaining the requisite degree, and one of ordinary skill in the art would not be reasonably apprised of the scope of the invention.
Claims 15, 17: The term "another" in line 3 is a relative term which renders the claim indefinite. The term "another" is not defined by the claim, the specification does not provide a standard for ascertaining the requisite degree, and one of ordinary skill in the art would not be reasonably apprised of the scope of the invention.
Claims 7, 11, 15, 16, 17, and 18: The term "other" in line 2 is a relative term which renders the claim indefinite. The term "other" is not defined by the claim, the specification does not provide a standard for ascertaining the requisite degree, and one of ordinary skill in the art would not be reasonably apprised of the scope of the invention.
The dependent and corresponding claims included in the statement of rejection but not specifically addressed in the body of the rejection have similar or inherited the deficiencies of their parent or corresponding claims and have not resolved the deficiencies. Therefore, they are rejected based on the same rationale as applied to the claims above.
Claim interpreted under 35 USC § 112 (f)
Claim 19 recites the limitation “a communication unit...” has been interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), sixth paragraph, because it uses a non-structural term “unit” without reciting sufficient structure to achieve the function. Furthermore, the non-structural term is preceded by a structural modifier. a control device.
Since this claim limitation invokes 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), sixth paragraph, claim limitation “configured to” interpreted to cover the corresponding structure described in the specification that achieves the claimed function, and equivalents thereof.
A review of the specification shows that the following appears to be the corresponding structure described in the specification for the 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), sixth paragraph limitation: a communication unit is/are defined in specification paragraphs [36, 38] and figures 3 and 6.
If applicant wishes to provide further explanation or dispute the examiner’s interpretation of the corresponding structure, applicant must identify the corresponding structure with reference to the specification by page and line number, and to the drawing, if any, by reference characters in response to this Office action.
If applicant does not wish to have the claim limitation treated under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), sixth paragraph, applicant may amend the claim so that it will clearly not invoke 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), sixth paragraph, or present a sufficient showing that the claim recites sufficient structure, material, or acts for performing the claimed function to preclude application of 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), sixth paragraph.
For more information, see MPEP § 2173 et seq. and Supplementary Examination Guidelines for Determining Compliance with 35 U.S.C. § 112 and for Treatment of Related Issues in Patent Applications, 76 FR 7162, 7167 (Feb. 9, 2011).
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 (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 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)(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.
Claim(s) 1-19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Hibara et al. (US 20170017821 A1) hereinafter “Hibara”.
As to claim 1, Hibara discloses a device setting support method in which a server device communicably connected to an information terminal supports setting of at least one electrical device controlled by a control device (Hibara [08, 24-26], discloses a control device configured to control facility equipment based on control information), the method comprising:
acquiring an identifier of the control device from the information terminal (Hibara [27-28, 51-53], discloses equipment identification information for identifying each of the pieces of facility equipment); and
instructing the information terminal to perform setting of the electrical device upon acquisition of the identifier (Hibara [44, 60-63], based on broadest reasonable interpretation, Hibara discloses instructions to set/configure the operations on the electronic device/node).
As to claim 2, Hibara discloses the device setting support method according to claim 1, further comprising: determining whether or not the identifier is appropriate upon acquisition of the identifier, wherein the information terminal is instructed to perform setting of the electrical device when the identifier is determined to be appropriate in the determination (Hibara [24-26, 37-39], based on broadest reasonable interpretation, Hibara discloses performing configuration based on the received information for the electrical/control device).
As to claim 3, Hibara discloses the device setting support method according to claim 2, further comprising: acquiring information for specifying installation of the at least one electrical device and the control device, wherein in the determining whether or not the identifier is appropriate, it is determined whether or not the identifier is appropriate by determining whether or not correspondence between the identifier and the information is appropriate (Hibara [37-40, 60-63], based on broadest reasonable interpretation, Hibara discloses the control device contains a receiver for receiving data from the terminal, a setter for setting the control information).
As to claim 4, Hibara discloses the device setting support method according to claim 1, wherein in the instructing the information terminal, the information terminal is instructed to perform the setting of the electrical device by displaying information indicating the electrical device to be set on the information terminal (Hibara [98, 101-104], based on broadest reasonable interpretation, Hibara discloses the warner displays results of comparing the addresses and model names included in the control information and the equipment information acquired from the equipment communicator).
As to claim 5, Hibara discloses the device setting support method according to claim 4, further comprising: acquiring a first identifier of the electrical device from the information terminal (Hibara [27-28, 33] equipment identification information for identifying each of the pieces of facility equipment); and
transmitting information indicating work details required for setting of the electrical device to the information terminal upon acquisition of the first identifier (Hibara [63-66, 85-86], based on broadest reasonable interpretation, Hibara discloses a transmitter for transmitting the setting-support information to the control device).
As to claims 6, Hibara discloses the device setting support method according to claim 4, further comprising: acquiring a first identifier of the electrical device from the information terminal (Hibara [27-28, 33], based on broadest reasonable interpretation, Hibara discloses acquiring identification information for identifying each of the pieces of facility equipment); and
transmitting information required for setting of the electrical device to the control device upon acquisition of the first identifier (Hibara [63-66, 85-86], based on broadest reasonable interpretation, Hibara discloses a transmitter for transmitting the setting-support information to the control device for configuring/setting the device).
As to claim 7, Hibara discloses the device setting support method according to claim 4, further comprising: acquiring a first identifier of the electrical device from the information terminal (Hibara [27-28, 33], based on broadest reasonable interpretation, Hibara discloses acquiring identification information for identifying each of the pieces of facility equipment); and
storing the first identifier and a prestored second identifier of the electrical device in association with each other upon acquisition of the first identifier (Hibara [63-66, 85-86], based on broadest reasonable interpretation, Hibara discloses wherein a program is stored in advance in the auxiliary memory, and a memory 13 for storing the control information).
As to claim 8, Hibara discloses the device setting support method according to claim 1, wherein in the instructing the information terminal, the information terminal is instructed to perform the setting of the electrical device by displaying on the information terminal information for an operator of the information terminal to specify the electrical device to be set (Hibara [98, 101-104], based on broadest reasonable interpretation, Hibara discloses the warner displays results of comparing the addresses and model names included in the control information and the equipment information acquired from the equipment communicator).
As to claim 9, Hibara discloses the device setting support method according to claim 8, further comprising: acquiring a first identifier of the electrical device from the information terminal; acquiring information indicating the electrical device specified by the operator (Hibara [27-28, 33], based on broadest reasonable interpretation, Hibara discloses acquiring identification information for identifying each of the pieces of facility equipment); and
transmitting to the information terminal information indicating work details required for setting of the electrical device upon acquisition of the information indicating the electrical device specified by the operator and the first identifier (Hibara [63-66, 85-86], based on broadest reasonable interpretation, Hibara discloses a transmitter for transmitting the setting-support information to the control device for configuring/setting the device).
As to claim 10, Hibara discloses the device setting support method according to claim 8, further comprising: acquiring a first identifier of the electrical device from the information terminal (Hibara [27-28, 33] equipment identification information for identifying each of the pieces of facility equipment); acquiring information indicating the electrical device specified by the operator (Hibara [27-28, 33], discloses acquiring identification information); and
transmitting to the control device information required for setting of the electrical device upon acquisition of the information indicating the electrical device specified by the operator and the first identifier (Hibara [63-66, 85-86, 109], based on broadest reasonable interpretation, Hibara discloses a transmitter for transmitting the setting-support information to the control device for configuring/setting the device).
As to claim 11, Hibara discloses the device setting support method according to claim 8, further comprising: acquiring a first identifier of the electrical device from the information terminal; acquiring information indicating the electrical device specified by the operator (Hibara [27-28, 33], based on broadest reasonable interpretation, Hibara discloses acquiring identification information for identifying each of the pieces of facility equipment); and
storing the first identifier and a prestored third identifier of the electrical device specified by the operator in association with each other upon acquisition of the information indicating the electrical device specified by the operator and the first identifier (Hibara [63-66, 85-86], based on broadest reasonable interpretation, Hibara discloses wherein a program is stored in advance in the auxiliary memory, and a memory 13 for storing the control information).
As to claim 12, Hibara discloses the device setting support method according to claim 6, wherein the information required for setting of the electrical device includes a first identifier of the electrical device (Hibara [27-28, 33, 51-54], based on broadest reasonable interpretation, Hibara discloses equipment identification information includes equipment identification data (ID) indicating a unique number assigned to each of the pieces of facility equipment, and an address for each of the pieces of facility equipment used in communications between the facility equipment and the control device).
As to claim 13, Hibara discloses the device setting support method according to claim 1, wherein the identifier of the control device includes an image code (Hibara [73-76, 80], based on broadest reasonable interpretation, Hibara discloses wherein a code is included in the image information).
As to claim 14, Hibara discloses the device setting support method according to claim 5, wherein the first identifier of the electrical device includes an image code (Hibara [73-76, 80], based on broadest reasonable interpretation, Hibara discloses wherein a code is included in the image information).
As to claim 15, Hibara discloses the device setting support method according to claim 5, further comprising: transmitting to the information terminal an instruction to acquire a fourth identifier of another electrical device that is communicably or electrically connected to the electrical device (Hibara [51-55], discloses wherein the server stores the control information so the control device or the terminal can, by reading the server identification information from the two-dimensional code communicate with the server and acquire the control information from the server); and
transmitting to the control device information for checking the connection between the other electrical device and the electrical device upon acquisition of the fourth identifier from the information terminal (Hibara [63-66, 85-86], based on broadest reasonable interpretation, Hibara discloses a transmitter for transmitting the setting-support information to the control device for configuring/setting the device).
As to claim 16, Hibara discloses the device setting support method according to claim 15, wherein the fourth identifier of the other electrical device includes an image code (Hibara [73-76, 80], based on broadest reasonable interpretation, Hibara discloses wherein a code is included in the image information).
As to claim 17, Hibara discloses the device setting support method according to claim 5, further comprising: transmitting to the information terminal an instruction to acquire a fifth identifier of another electrical device that requires communication connection or electrical connection with the electrical device Hibara [63-66, 85-86], based on broadest reasonable interpretation, Hibara discloses a transmitter for transmitting the setting-support information to the control device for configuring/setting the device); and
instructing the information terminal to establish communication connection or electrical connection between the other electrical device and the electrical device upon acquisition of the fifth identifier from the information terminal (Hibara [37-40, 53, 60-61], based on broadest reasonable interpretation, Hibara discloses the control device can obtain the address and the model name of each of the pieces of facility equipment by means of inquiries through communication to each of the facility equipment by establishing a connection between the nodes).
As to claim 18, Hibara discloses the device setting support method according to claim 17, wherein the fifth identifier of the other electrical device includes an image code (Hibara [73-76, 80], based on broadest reasonable interpretation, Hibara discloses wherein a code is included in the image information).
As to claim 19, Hibara discloses a server device that is communicably connected to an information terminal and supports setting of at least one electrical device controlled by a control device (Hibara [08, 24-26], discloses a control device configured to control facility equipment based on control information), comprising:
a communication unit that acquires an identifier of the control device from the information terminal (Hibara [27-28, 51-53], discloses equipment identification information for identifying each of the pieces of facility equipment); and
a controller that instructs the information terminal to perform setting of the electrical device via the communication unit upon acquisition of the identifier (Hibara [44, 60-63], based on broadest reasonable interpretation, Hibara discloses instructions to set/configure the operations on the electronic device/node).
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. See Form 892.
Correspondence Information
The examiner also requests, in response to this Office action, support be shown for language added to any original claims on amendment and any new claims. That is, indicate support for newly added claim language by specifically pointing to page(s) and line no(s) in the specification and/or drawing figure(s). This will assist the examiner in prosecuting the application. When responding to this office action, Applicant is advised to clearly point out the patentable novelty which he or she thinks the claims present, in view of the state of the art disclosed by the references cited or the objections made. He or she must also show how the amendments avoid such references or objections See 37 CFR 1.111(c).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Razu A Miah whose telephone number is (571)270-5433. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F, 9:30-4 EST.
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, Wing Chan can be reached on 27493. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/RAZU A MIAH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2441
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