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 .
Response to Amendments and Remarks
Applicant's arguments filed 8/24/26 have been fully considered as follows:
Applicant argues:
The references in Julio to an X axis and a Y axis are in relation to a display with a first
area 24 in which color hues are arranged vertically (Y axis) and saturation is arranged laterally (X axis), and a second area 26 in which intensity is arranged vertically (Y axis). Vertical and lateral selections within areas 24 and 26 in Julio cannot be plotted in a CIE diagram, and would be useless for attempting to set a color point in a CIE diagram.
(Remarks, Page 5-6 ).
Applicant’s argument is unpersuasive because Julio explicitly suggests the use of CIE as a GUI option: “] It should be noted that although a touchpad is used to describe the preferred embodiment of the present invention, other implementations are possible such as a touch screen or mouse to select color parameters including intensity. It should also be noted that other embodiments could employ various graphic geometries to represent a color spectrum, selection areas for color could be shapes such as a circle, etc. Commonly known in the art are other graphical representations of color that could be used; for example, CIE xyz color space” (Julio, ¶ 56).
Applicant argues:
Plotting color spaces of channels of a luminaire is not setting an x value of a color point on a CIE diagram with a first color control channel, and setting a y value of a color point on the CIE diagram with a second color control channel, as recited in claim 315.
(Remarks, Page 5-6).
Applicant’s argument is unpersuasive because Julio explicitly suggests the use of CIE as a GUI option: “] It should be noted that although a touchpad is used to describe the preferred embodiment of the present invention, other implementations are possible such as a touch screen or mouse to select color parameters including intensity. It should also be noted that other embodiments could employ various graphic geometries to represent a color spectrum, selection areas for color could be shapes such as a circle, etc. Commonly known in the art are other graphical representations of color that could be used; for example, CIE xyz color space” (Julio, ¶ 56).
Applicant argues:
The March 25, 2026 Office Action also includes a rejection of claims 316-318 under 35
U.S.C. 103 over Julio in view of Paolini, in view of WO 2016/034711. The USPTO relied on WO 2016/034711 for alleged disclosure of "producing the color tuning curve in an augmented reality lighting simulation environment", "a lighting effect resulting from producing the color tuning curve is rendered throughout a three-dimensional space" and "the color tuning curve is applied to a light source in the three-dimensional space." Any such disclosure in WO 2016/034711 would not overcome the shortcomings of Julio and Paolini in relation to claim 315, from which each of claims 316-318 depends (directly or indirectly). The Applicant respectfully requests that the USPTO reconsider and withdraw this rejection.
(Remarks, Page 5-6 ).
Applicant’s argument is unpersuasive because Julio as modified Paolini discloses each limitation of the claim.
Applicant argues:
The March 25, 2026 Office Action also includes a rejection of claims 319-321 under 35 U.S.C. 103 over Julio in view of Paolini, in view of WO 2016/034711 and Glassner (US 5,488,700). The USPTO relied on Glassner for alleged disclosure of "the rendering includes accounting for effects relating to physical characteristics of the light source", "the rendering includes rendering a distance-based light source intensity" and "rendering the distance-based light source intensity includes rendering a light source intensity fall-off over a distance from the light source for each ray-trace in the set of ray-traces." Any such disclosure in Glassner would not overcome the shortcomings of Julio and Paolini in relation to claim 315, from which each of claims 319-321 depends (directly or indirectly). The Applicant respectfully requests that the USPTO reconsider and withdraw this rejection.
(Remarks, Page 5-6 ).
Applicant’s argument is unpersuasive because Julio as modified Paolini discloses each limitation of the claim.
Applicant argues:
The March 25, 2026 Office Action also includes a rejection of claim 324 under 35 U.S.C. 103 over Julio in view of Paolini and Zwanenburg (US 2006/0290710). The USPTO relied on Zwanenburg for alleged disclosure of "at least one of among the tuning curve dimming path and color tuning path is responsive to a level of dimming." Any such disclosure in Zwanenburg would not overcome the shortcomings of Julio and Paolini in relation to claim 315, from which claim 324 depends (indirectly). The Applicant respectfully requests that the USPTO reconsider and withdraw this rejection. In view of the above, claims 315-327 are in condition for allowance.
(Remarks, Page 5-6 ).
Applicant’s argument is unpersuasive because Julio as modified Paolini discloses each limitation of the claim.
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.
Use of indicates a limitation is not explicitly disclosed by the reference alone.
Claim(s) 315, 322, 323, 326, 327 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Julio (US 2009/0153352) in view of Paolini (US 2017/0142809)
Claim 315
Julio discloses a method of producing a color tuning curve comprising:
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controlling a first color control channel including setting an “x” value that corresponds to a first axis of a (Juilio; abstract: “the other being a two dimensional X/Y-axis control surface with color Hue on one axis and color Saturation on the other axis”);
controlling a second color control channel including setting a “y” value that corresponds to a second axis of a (Juilio; abstract: “the other being a two dimensional X/Y-axis control surface with color Hue on one axis and color Saturation on the other axis”);
controlling a third color control channel including setting a dim value that corresponds to a light output value (Julio, abstract; “The graphical attachment having two regions, one region being a rectangular shape to select the intensity via a Y-axis”); and
Julio does not explicitly disclose, but Paolini discloses a CIE diagram (Fig. 9A; ¶ 107:
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a fourth color control channel including setting at least one of the “x” value and the “y” value based on a primary control input (e.g. a separate configuration for additional luminaires, Paolini, ¶ 28: “Luminaire 100 as shown contains multiple spectral channels 110-1 to 110-N. Spectral channels 110-1 to 110-N may emit light with different emission characteristics, e.g., different spectral power distributions and/or different degrees of collimation, polarization, or coherency. In general, spectral channels 110-1 to 110-N are not intended to be viewed directly but instead provide electromagnetic radiation or illumination in an environment. In one specific application, a user views the environment as illuminated by the illumination system.”).
Before the effective filing date of this application, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to consider a CIE diagram as claimed.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have motivation to improve the user’s ability to fine tune color. This is further suggested by Julio: “n other embodiments, chromaticity diagram 510 is a graphical representation of a 1960 CIE UCS or a 1976 CIE UCS” (See ¶ 29). One of ordinary skill in the art would have had a reasonable expectation of success because Julio is in the same field of endeavor and considers user interfaces for luminaire control.
Claim 322
Julio discloses further comprising providing a user interface that facilitates a user selecting a lighting fixture to control to produce the color tuning curve (Julio, ¶ 54: “FIG. 2A is a front perspective drawing showing touchpad assembly 2000 having a color spectrum/intensity graphic 20 integrated with touchpad 22. The present invenion integrates color graphic 20 with a touch sensitive surface 23 on a typical touchpad 22 to make a two-dimensional control as shown in FIG. 2A. Color spectrum/intensity graphic 20 can be manufactured with a film type material, which can be adhered to the surface of an industrial supplied touchpad 22. The invention combines color model (HSV/HSI) with a computer touchpad 22 to create an intuitive, low-cost and easy-to-use control for color capable lights. Touchpad assembly 2000 is organized so that it can easily control complex lighting installations.”)
Claim 323
Juilio does not explicitly disclose, but Paolini discloses further comprising providing a user interface that facilitatesfacilitate a user selecting at least one of a programmable dimming curve, a programmable color tuning curve, a tuning curve start point, a tuning curve end point, a tuning curve dimming path, and a color tuning path (Fig. 9A; ¶ 107:
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Before the effective filing date of this application, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to consider point selection as claimed.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have motivation to improve the user’s ability to fine tune color. One of ordinary skill in the art would have had a reasonable expectation of success because Julio is in the same field of endeavor and considers user interfaces for luminaire control.
Claim 325
Julio discloses wherein the controlling of the first, second, third, and fourth color control channels channel is [[are]] applied to a lighting system including three white light sources each with different CCTs to produce the color tuning curve (e.g. lights 1-3; Julio, ¶¶ 6, 28 “LEDs emit a very narrow band of light spectra. As a result colors mixed from red, green and blue LEDs may have a non-natural look to the human eye, especially as the colors selected become less saturated (more white). Light manufacturers are including additional colored and white LEDs to improve color fidelity and rendering index…For this invention the term `touchpad` and the term `touch pad` both refer to one and the same. The invention combines a color model (HSV/HSI) with a simple computer touchpad to create an intuitive, low-cost and easy-to-use control for color capable lights such as LEDs. It is organized so that it can easily control complex lighting installations. It can also control the intensity of traditional white lights enabling one device to handle any lighting control task.”)
Claim 326
Julio discloses wherein controlling of the first, second, third, and fourth color control channels channel is [[are]] applied to a lighting system including a plurality of different color light emitting diode (LED) light sources to produce the color tuning curve (e.g. lights 1-3; Julio, ¶¶ 6, 28 “LEDs emit a very narrow band of light spectra. As a result colors mixed from red, green and blue LEDs may have a non-natural look to the human eye, especially as the colors selected become less saturated (more white). Light manufacturers are including additional colored and white LEDs to improve color fidelity and rendering index…For this invention the term `touchpad` and the term `touch pad` both refer to one and the same. The invention combines a color model (HSV/HSI) with a simple computer touchpad to create an intuitive, low-cost and easy-to-use control for color capable lights such as LEDs. It is organized so that it can easily control complex lighting installations. It can also control the intensity of traditional white lights enabling one device to handle any lighting control task.”)
Claim 327
Juilio does not explicitly disclose, but Paolini discloses wherein producing the color tuning curve is responsive to a user selection of a tuning curve start point, a tuning curve end point (e.g 936 defined by steps prior: “An editing system can determine the displayed sizes of circles 932 from the drive levels identified using the frame descriptor or luminaire data as described in the preceding paragraph.”) and at least one tuning curve waypoint (e.g. 934) between the start and end points (Fig. 9A; ¶ 107:
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Before the effective filing date of this application, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to consider point selection as claimed.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have motivation to improve the user’s ability to fine tune color. One of ordinary skill in the art would have had a reasonable expectation of success because Julio is in the same field of endeavor and considers user interfaces for luminaire control.
Claim(s) 316-318 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Julio (US 2009/0153352) in view of Paolini (US 2017/0142809) in view of ‘711 (WO/2016/034711 A1)(‘711)(translation provided and reference herein)
Claim 316
Juilio as modified by Paolini does not disclose, but ‘711 discloses further comprising producing the color tuning curve in an augmented reality lighting simulation environment (“Use augmented reality…To provide methods for interacting with a lighting system, which allow planning of the lighting system with little time and great flexibility…Color temperature, a dimming curve, or a lighting mood or an entire lighting situation are set and simulated”)
Before the effective filing date of this application, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to use augmented reality lighting simulation.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have motivation to improve realism and perception in displaying luminaires (“This way, the luminaire inserted in the moving image can be adapted particularly precisely to the geometry of the room. A very realistic image is achieved….To create lighting system. The disadvantage of this is that between the The emergence of a lighting idea and its visualization takes a considerable amount of time and, moreover, a considerable amount of processing is necessary.”) One of ordinary skill in the art would have had a reasonable expectation of success because one of ordinary skill in the art would recognize the benefit of simulation (“To create lighting system. The disadvantage of this is that between the The emergence of a lighting idea and its visualization takes a considerable amount of time and, moreover, a considerable amount of processing is necessary.”)
Claim 317
Juilio as modified by Paolini does not disclose, but ‘711 discloses wherein a lighting effect resulting from producing the color tuning curve is rendered throughout a three-dimensional space (‘711: “The environment information preferably includes a spatial geometry of a room in which the operating device is located…. t is thus possible for the user to gain an impression of how the space 4 works with mounted luminaires before mounting luminaires. In addition, a simulation of a lighting situation generated by the lights 3 is possible. A simulation of a dimming curve, different light colors, different brightness levels, etc. is also possible. All of this information can be presented as visual lighting information. In order to be able to correctly arrange the luminaire 3 in the moving image in a perspective manner,”)
Before the effective filing date of this application, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to consider the 3D space.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have motivation to improve realism and perception in displaying luminaires (“This way, the luminaire inserted in the moving image can be adapted particularly precisely to the geometry of the room. A very realistic image is achieved….To create lighting system. The disadvantage of this is that between the The emergence of a lighting idea and its visualization takes a considerable amount of time and, moreover, a considerable amount of processing is necessary.”) One of ordinary skill in the art would have had a reasonable expectation of success because one of ordinary skill in the art would recognize the benefit of simulation (“To create lighting system. The disadvantage of this is that between the The emergence of a lighting idea and its visualization takes a considerable amount of time and, moreover, a considerable amount of processing is necessary.”)
Claim 318
Juilio as modified by Paolini does not disclose, but ‘711 discloses wherein the color tuning curve is applied to a light lighting source in the three-dimensional space (‘711: “The environment information preferably includes a spatial geometry of a room in which the operating device is located…. t is thus possible for the user to gain an impression of how the space 4 works with mounted luminaires before mounting luminaires. In addition, a simulation of a lighting situation generated by the lights 3 is possible. A simulation of a dimming curve, different light colors, different brightness levels, etc. is also possible. All of this information can be presented as visual lighting information. In order to be able to correctly arrange the luminaire 3 in the moving image in a perspective manner,”)
Before the effective filing date of this application, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to consider the 3D space.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have motivation to improve realism and perception in displaying luminaires (“This way, the luminaire inserted in the moving image can be adapted particularly precisely to the geometry of the room. A very realistic image is achieved….To create lighting system. The disadvantage of this is that between the The emergence of a lighting idea and its visualization takes a considerable amount of time and, moreover, a considerable amount of processing is necessary.”) One of ordinary skill in the art would have had a reasonable expectation of success because one of ordinary skill in the art would recognize the benefit of simulation (“To create lighting system. The disadvantage of this is that between the The emergence of a lighting idea and its visualization takes a considerable amount of time and, moreover, a considerable amount of processing is necessary.”)
Claim(s) 319-321 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Julio (US 2009/0153352) in view of Paolini (US 2017/0142809) in view of ‘711 (WO/2016/034711 A1)(‘711) and Glassner (US Patent 5,488,700)
Claim 319
Juilio as modified by Paolini does not disclose, but Glassner discloses wherein the rendering includes accounting for effects relating to physical characteristics of the light source (Glassner, Col1. : “One well-known method of rendering an image is the process of "ray-tracing". Ray-tracing is illustrated in FIG. 1…The goal of ray-tracing, or any rendering process, is to determine color information each pixel in the image…depends on what objects and light sources (often referred to just as "objects", with light sources being self-luminous objects, or luminaires) are present in the model space and where they are located in that model space….Depending on the implementation, multiple rays R' might be sent out for each unit area, and the resulting color for the multiple rays are combined (by averaging or other means… distance between the shading point and the intersection point, which is useful for approximating light attenuation due to intervening atmosphere, among other things.”)
Before the effective filing date of this application, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to consider physical characteristics, such as location, self-luminance, etc.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have motivation to improve realism using well known illumination methods. One of ordinary skill in the art would have had a reasonable expectation of success because in the context of augmented reality illumination rendering, use of conventional techniques would improve realism.
Claim 320
Juilio as modified by Paolini does not disclose, but Glassner discloses wherein the rendering includes rendering a distance-based light source intensity (Glassner, Col1. : “One well-known method of rendering an image is the process of "ray-tracing". Ray-tracing is illustrated in FIG. 1…The goal of ray-tracing, or any rendering process, is to determine color information each pixel in the image…depends on what objects and light sources (often referred to just as "objects", with light sources being self-luminous objects, or luminaires) are present in the model space and where they are located in that model space….Depending on the implementation, multiple rays R' might be sent out for each unit area, and the resulting color for the multiple rays are combined (by averaging or other means… distance between the shading point and the intersection point, which is useful for approximating light attenuation due to intervening atmosphere, among other things.”)
Before the effective filing date of this application, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to consider distance based rendering.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have motivation to improve realism using well known illumination methods. One of ordinary skill in the art would have had a reasonable expectation of success because in the context of augmented reality illumination rendering, use of conventional techniques would improve realism.
Claim 321
Juilio as modified by Paolini does not disclose, but Glassner discloses wherein the rendering the distance-based light source intensity includes rendering a light source intensity fall-off over a distance from the light source for each ray-trace in the set of ray-traces (Glassner, Col1. : “One well-known method of rendering an image is the process of "ray-tracing". Ray-tracing is illustrated in FIG. 1…The goal of ray-tracing, or any rendering process, is to determine color information each pixel in the image…depends on what objects and light sources (often referred to just as "objects", with light sources being self-luminous objects, or luminaires) are present in the model space and where they are located in that model space….Depending on the implementation, multiple rays R' might be sent out for each unit area, and the resulting color for the multiple rays are combined (by averaging or other means… distance between the shading point and the intersection point, which is useful for approximating light attenuation due to intervening atmosphere, among other things.”)
Before the effective filing date of this application, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to consider ray tracing.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have motivation to improve realism using well known illumination methods. One of ordinary skill in the art would have had a reasonable expectation of success because in the context of augmented reality illumination rendering, use of conventional techniques would improve realism.
Claim(s) 324 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Julio (US 2009/0153352) in view of Paolini (US 2017/0142809) and Zwanenburg (US 2006/0290710)
Claim 324
Juilio as modified by Paolini does not disclose, but Zwanenburg discloses wherein in at least one among [[of ]] the turning curve dimming path and color tuning path is responsive to a level of dimming (Zwanenburg, ¶ 34: “. The intensity value is expressed as a dimming level percentage within intensity scale 530. The processor may utilize any number of conventional methods for determining a predefined ratio of red (R), green (G), and blue (B) output necessary to match the user desired spectral output.”)
Before the effective filing date of this application, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to dimming as claimed.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have motivation to product the proper color despite dimming levels. One of ordinary skill in the art would have had a reasonable expectation of success because Julio and Paolini consider application to color control of luminaires.
Additional Prior Art
Additional prior art relevant to Applicant’s disclosure but not relied upon:
Benitez (US2010/0049488) also considers multi-light control
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any extension fee pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to RYAN M GRAY whose telephone number is (571)272-4582. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday through Friday, 9:00am-5:30pm (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, Kee Tung can be reached on (571)272-7794. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/RYAN M GRAY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2611
