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 .
Status of the Claims
Claims 1-18 were previously pending and subject to a non-final office action mailed 12/29/2025. Claims 1 and 4-18 were amended; no claim was cancelled, and no claim was added in a reply filed 03/04/2026. Therefore claims 1-18 are currently pending and subject to the non-final office action below.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see remarks p. 12, filed 03/04/2026, with respect to 112(f) have been fully considered and are persuasive. The 112f interpretation of claim 13 has been withdrawn.
Applicant's arguments filed 03/04/2026 in regards to 101 rejection have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant argues that under step 2A, prong one, “even under a broad view, the claims do not merely recite a mental process, but instead recite specific technical operations performed on physically acquired data.” (remarks p. 14).
Examiner respectfully disagrees. Despite adding “sensor-based acquisition of real-world energy data” and “at least one processor”, the claims still recite “analyzing energy performance of the factories, the industrial facilities, and the plants based on the acquired energy information, and deriving energy saving factors and renewable energy production factors”, “verifying performance of facility materials and facility construction methods using simulation results generated from the acquired energy information, and optimizing internal air” and “quantitatively measuring and evaluating environmental, social, and governance (ESG) achievement rates of the factories, the industrial facilities, and the plants based on operation data collected” which are all operations that can be performed in the human mind (with the help of pen and paper). The additional elements (i.e. the sensors and the at least one processor) are recited at a high level of generality and amounts to no more than mere instructions to apply the abstract idea on a generic computer which does not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application. Therefore, the claims are directed towards a mental process.
However, Applicant argues that “Even assuming arguendo that a judicial exception is recited, the amended claims are integrated into a practical application. Claim-based Practical Application Elements: Each of claims 1, 7, and 13 now requires (1)-(4):
(1) Physical Data Acquisition - Energy information is acquired via at least one sensor measuring power, flow rate, gas, temperature, humidity, pressure, or weather data, and transmitted via a communication interface.
(2) Simulation-Based Verification - Facility materials and construction methods are verified using simulation results generated from the acquired energy information, not abstract comparison or mental judgment.
(3) Control of a Physical System - The claims require generating control settings for an loT-based ventilation system to optimize internal air - i.e., active control of a physical industrial system.
(4) Operational ESG Evaluation - ESG achievement rates are quantitatively evaluated based on operational data collected from a FEMS or loT-based ventilation system, not theoretical or manual calculations.
These elements collectively apply any alleged abstract idea to improve operation of industrial facilities, including energy management, air quality control, and ESG compliance.” (remarks p. 14).
Examiner respectfully disagrees. As stated above, the additional elements of the sensors and the at least one processor are recited at a high level of generality which amounts to simple instructions of automate the data acquisition, the simulation and the operation ESG evaluation on a generic computer which does not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application.
Furthermore, while Examiner agrees that control of a physical system usually integrate an abstract idea into a practical application, that is not the case here. Generating control settings for an Iot-based ventilation system to optimize internal air does not equate to active control of a physical industrial system. Generating control setting is simply “generating” control, no active control of the physical equipment is recited in the claims. Therefore, the “generating” does not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application.
Applicant argues that under step 2B, “Even if the claims were deemed directed to an abstract idea, the amended claims recite significantly more:
(1) Sensors and energy acquisition devices are not generic post-solution activity.
(2) Simulation-based verification and generation of control settings go beyond "apply it on a computer."
(3) FEMS-based ESG evaluation ties results to actual industrial operation, not data manipulation alone.
Thus, the claims recite a specific technical solution to a technical problem - how to achieve carbon neutrality in industrial sites using measured energy data, simulations, and automated control.” (remarks p. 15).
Examiner respectfully disagrees. The claims do not provide significantly more because as stated above, the claim limitations are directed towards an abstract idea and the additional elements (the sensors and the at least one processor), alone or in combination, are recited at a high level of generality which is simply meant to automate the abstract idea and nothing more. Therefore, the claims do not provide significantly more.
Applicant's arguments filed 03/04/2026 in regards to 103 rejection have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant argues “Claimed Feature 1:
"acquiring, via an energy information acquisition device including at least one sensor and a communication interface, energy information..."
Applicant respectfully submits that the above-identified features are not disclosed or suggested by Ko in view of Choi:
(1) Ko relies on building-level management systems and aggregated data; it does not disclose a distinct energy information acquisition device structurally defined by sensors and a communication interface.
(2) Choi discusses industrial energy management but does not teach a dedicated acquisition device that measures and transmits the claimed categories of energy information.” (remarks p. 16).
Examiner respectfully disagrees. Applicant characterization of Ko (KR102565319) as disclosing only “building level management systems and aggregated data” is factually incorrect and directly contradicted by the reference itself. Ko explicitly discloses “[0052] [For example, measuring devices such as watt-hour meters, flow meters, temperature/humidity, and illuminance sensors required according to the shape, space size, and type of facilities of the proposed building; And control devices such as lighting, boilers, air conditioners, heaters, gas, etc., and automatically set and provide facility operation information settings, monitoring plans, IoT-based data collection plans, etc. for optimal energy management.]”, “[0078] [ESG performance indicator calculation unit 242 manages ESG evaluation indicators, analyzes IoT data collected from the BEMS 400 or air conditioning ventilation system installed in the building, and analyzes greenhouse gas emissions, energy consumption, renewable energy use rate, waste Evaluate at least one ESG evaluation index among emissions, water consumption, air pollutant emissions, use of eco-friendly certified products, indoor fine dust concentration, and indoor air pollutant generation amount.]” Therefore, Ko discloses exactly what the claims recites and what Applicant claims it does not.
Applicant argues “"verifying... facility materials and facility construction methods using simulation results generated from the acquired energy information"
Applicant submits that the above-identified features are Not disclosed or suggested by Ko in view of Choi:
(1) Ko evaluates eco-friendly materials but does not verify performance using simulations driven by sensor-acquired energy data.
(2) Choi does not address material or construction-method verification at all.” (remarks p. 16).
Examiner respectfully disagrees. Ko discloses exactly what the claim limitation recites. Ko discloses “[0040] [The energy analysis unit 221 performs energy modeling by reflecting building shape information, air conditioning facility information, meteorological data, insulation/heat information, equipment efficiency information, and air conditioning device operation schedules, and performs simulations on the cooling and heating load of the building , analyze energy consumption, carbon emissions and thermal comfort.]”, “[0060] [The building material performance evaluation unit 231 evaluates harmful substances in indoor building materials and calculates the eco-friendly material level of the indoor building materials.]”, “[0062] [The IoT simulation unit 232 builds a test bed to which eco-friendly materials and eco-friendly construction methods are applied, and analyzes and simulates indoor air quality by applying IoT-based monitoring/control technology.]” Therefore, Ko discloses exactly what the claims recites and what Applicant claims it does not.
Applicant argues “"optimizing internal air by generating control settings for an loT-based ventilation system" Applicant respectfully submits that the above-identified features are Not disclosed or suggested by Ko in view of Choi:
(1) Ko discusses indoor air quality conceptually, but does not generate control settings for an loT-based ventilation system based on simulation results.
(2) Choi is directed to energy supply and industrial complexes, not loT-based air- quality control.” (remarks p. 16)
Examiner respectfully disagrees. Ko discloses “[0059] [Air quality optimization unit 230 evaluates harmful substances in indoor building materials, verifies the performance of eco-friendly indoor building materials or eco-friendly construction methods, and proposes optimization of indoor air quality. It includes a big data interlocking unit 23 3 and an air quality improving unit 234.]”, “[0062] [The IoT simulation unit 232 builds a test bed to which eco-friendly materials and eco-friendly construction methods are applied, and analyzes and simulates indoor air quality by applying IoT-based monitoring/control technology.]”, “[0066] [In addition, the IoT simulation unit 232 provides a user interface for controlling the air conditioning ventilation system installed in the test bed and monitoring the indoor air condition of the test bed, so that the consultant terminal 100 can optimize the indoor air through the provided user interface. It supports to perform various simulations for”. Therefore, Ko discloses exactly what the claims recites and what Applicant claims it does not.
Applicant argues “"quantitatively measuring and evaluating ESG achievement rates... based on operation data collected from a FEMS or the loT-based ventilation system" Applicant submits that the above-identified features are Not disclosed or suggested by Ko in view of Choi:
(1) Ko calculates ESG indices but does not tie ESG evaluation to operational data collected from a FEMS or ventilation system as claimed.
(2) Choi does not address ESG evaluation.” (remarks p. 16-17).
Examiner respectfully disagrees. Ko discloses “[0075] [The carbon reduction calculation unit 241 calculates the carbon emission factor in the content analyzed/suggested by the zero energy optimization unit 220 or various operational data such as the process, transportation, environment, and waste of the building or business site provided by the BEMS 400. Calculate the amount of carbon reduction by applying . ]”, “[0078] [ESG performance indicator calculation unit 242 manages ESG evaluation indicators, analyzes IoT data collected from the BEMS 400 or air conditioning ventilation system installed in the building, and analyzes greenhouse gas emissions, energy consumption, renewable energy use rate, waste Evaluate at least one ESG evaluation index among emissions, water consumption, air pollutant emissions, use of eco-friendly certified products, indoor fine dust concentration, and indoor air pollutant generation amount.]” Therefore, Ko discloses exactly what the claims recites and what Applicant claims it does not.
Applicant argues “Claim 7 recites processor-executed instructions that perform the same distinctive technical operations discussed above. Neither Ko nor Choi discloses or suggests an apparatus that: (1) receives sensor-acquired energy information, (2) performs simulation-based verification of materials, (3) generates loT ventilation control settings, and (4) evaluates ESG achievement rates using FEMS operational data, as an integrated apparatus configuration.” (remarks p. 17).
Examiner respectfully disagrees. Ko explicitly discloses these limitations. [0029] [The big data server 500 in the present invention collects data from the BEMS 400 installed in the building, the IoT-based smart air conditioning ventilation system, and the IoT-based test bed built for testing indoor air quality performance, Perform data preprocessing, analysis, and visualization. The data managed by the big data server 500 is used for AI (artificial intelligence)-based energy management/indoor air quality optimization model learning, energy efficiency analysis, and indoor air quality performance evaluation.]”, “[0040] [The energy analysis unit 221 performs energy modeling by reflecting building shape information, air conditioning facility information, meteorological data, insulation/heat information, equipment efficiency information, and air conditioning device operation schedules, and performs simulations on the cooling and heating load of the building , analyze energy consumption, carbon emissions and thermal comfort.]”, “[0062] [The IoT simulation unit 232 builds a test bed to which eco-friendly materials and eco-friendly construction methods are applied, and analyzes and simulates indoor air quality by applying IoT-based monitoring/control technology.]”, “[0063] [IoT simulation unit 232 collects sensor information installed in the IoT-based test bed, IoT-based smart installed in the test bed, B [attributes={}; value=[]], collects and analyzes indoor air quality data for a specific environment by controlling the air conditioning ventilator.]”, “[0074] [The ESG performance evaluation unit 240 quantitatively measures/ evaluates and provides ESG performance, and includes a carbon reduction calculation unit 241 and an ESG performance index calculation unit 242.] [0075] [The carbon reduction calculation unit 241 calculates the carbon emission factor in the content analyzed/suggested by the zero energy optimization unit 220 or various operational data such as the process, transportation, environment, and waste of the building or business site provided by the BEMS 400. Calculate the amount of carbon reduction by applying . ]”. Therefore, Ko discloses exactly what the claims recites and what Applicant claims it does not.
Applicant argues “Ko and Choi fail to teach or suggest this end-to-end system, particularly the measured- energy-information -> simulation -> control-setting pipeline now expressly required by claim lack of Motivation and Improper Hindsight: The Examiner's combination relies on a generalized notion that "buildings" in Ko could be replaced with "factories" from Choi. However, such substitution does not supply the missing limitations, including: (1) simulation-based verification using sensor-acquired data, and (2) generation of loT ventilation control settings. Absent impermissible hindsight, one of ordinary skill in the art would not have been motivated to modify Ko in the manner required by the amended claims.” (Remarks p. 17-18).
Examiner respectfully disagrees. Ko inherently discloses that energy management system is applicable to factories because it discloses that “[0001] [The present invention is an energy performance analysis of buildings, energy saving factors, new renewable and unused energy production/utilization methods, eco-friendly indoor building materials and ecofriendly construction methods for systematic, rational, reliable and fast decision-making for the realization of carbon-neutral, eco-friendly low-energy buildings.” According to the Cambridge dictionary, a building is a structure with walls and a roof, such as a house or factory (dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/English/building). Therefore, no “substation” of building for factory is required at all. Ko by itself discloses that the energy system is applicable to factories. Nevertheless, the combination with Choi was raised only as explicitly supplementary support, not as a necessary gap filler.
Furthermore, the “missing limitations” applicant identifies do not actually exist as gaps. As demonstrated above, all limitations applicant claims are missing from Ko are in fact explicitly disclosed. Because there are no genuine gaps, the motivation to combine argument is largely moot with respect to Ko.
Claim Interpretation
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(f):
(f) Element in Claim for a Combination. – An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The claims in this application are given their broadest reasonable interpretation using the plain meaning of the claim language in light of the specification as it would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. The broadest reasonable interpretation of a claim element (also commonly referred to as a claim limitation) is limited by the description in the specification when 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is invoked.
As explained in MPEP § 2181, subsection I, claim limitations that meet the following three-prong test will be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
(A) the claim limitation uses the term “means” or “step” or a term used as a substitute for “means” that is a generic placeholder (also called a nonce term or a non-structural term having no specific structural meaning) for performing the claimed function;
(B) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is modified by functional language, typically, but not always linked by the transition word “for” (e.g., “means for”) or another linking word or phrase, such as “configured to” or “so that”; and
(C) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is not modified by sufficient structure, material, or acts for performing the claimed function.
Use of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim with functional language creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites sufficient structure, material, or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Absence of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is not to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is not interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites function without reciting sufficient structure, material or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Claim limitations in this application that use the word “means” (or “step”) are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action. Conversely, claim limitations in this application that do not use the word “means” (or “step”) are not being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action.
This application includes one or more claim limitations that do not use the word “means,” but are nonetheless being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, because the claim limitation(s) uses a generic placeholder that is coupled with functional language without reciting sufficient structure to perform the recited function and the generic placeholder is not preceded by a structural modifier. Such claim limitation(s) is/are: “FEMS” in claim 4/10
Because this/these claim limitation(s) is/are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, it/they is/are being interpreted to cover the corresponding structure described in the specification as performing the claimed function, and equivalents thereof.
If applicant does not intend to have this/these limitation(s) interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, applicant may: (1) amend the claim limitation(s) to avoid it/them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph (e.g., by reciting sufficient structure to perform the claimed function); or (2) present a sufficient showing that the claim limitation(s) recite(s) sufficient structure to perform the claimed function so as to avoid it/them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
Claims 1-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to a judicial exception (i.e., a law of nature, a natural phenomenon, or an abstract idea) without significantly more.
Claim 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to an abstract idea without significantly more. The claim recites “acquiring energy information comprising at least one of power, flow rate, gas, temperature, humidity, pressure, or weather data from factories, industrial facilities, and plants; analyzing energy performance of the factories, the industrial facilities, and the plants based on the acquired energy information, and deriving energy saving factors and renewable energy production factors; verifying performance of facility materials and facility construction methods using simulation results generated from the acquired energy information, and optimizing internal air by generating control settings for an loT-based ventilation system; and quantitatively measuring and evaluating environmental, social, and governance (ESG) achievement rates of the factories, the industrial facilities, and the plants based on operation data collected from..”
The limitations above, as drafted, is a process that, under its broadest reasonable interpretation, covers for achieving carbon neutrality which is a method that falls under mental processes. That is, the method allows for the limitations to be performed in the human mind with the help of pen and paper.
This judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application. In particular, claim 1 recites “an energy information acquisition device including at least one sensor and a communication interface”, “at least one processor”, and “a factory energy management system (FEMS) or the loT-based ventilation system”. Each of the additional limitations is recited at a high level of generality and amounts to no more than mere instructions to apply the exception using a generic computer component. Accordingly, these additional elements, alone or in combination, do not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application because they do not impose any meaningful limits on practicing the abstract idea. The claim is directed to an abstract idea.
The claim does not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception. As discussed above with respect to integration of the abstract idea into a practical application, the additional elements, alone or in combination, are nothing more than mere instructions to apply the exception on a general computer.
Claim 7/13 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to an abstract idea without significantly more. The claim recites “receive energy information; analyze energy performance of factories, industrial facilities, and plants based on the received energy information, and derive energy saving factors and renewable energy production factors; verify performance of facility materials and facility construction methods using simulation results, and generate control settings for an loT-based ventilation system to optimize internal air; and quantitatively measure and evaluate environmental, social, and governance (ESG) achievement rates using data collected.”
The limitations above, as drafted, is a process that, under its broadest reasonable interpretation, covers for achieving carbon neutrality which is a method that falls under mental processes. That is, the method allows for the limitations to be performed in the human mind with the help of pen and paper.
This judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application. In particular, claim 7 recites “at least one processor”, “a memory”, “an energy information acquisition device comprising at least one sensor and a communication interface” and “a factory energy management system (FEMS) or the loT-based ventilation system” and claim 13 recites “an energy information acquisition device including at least one sensor configured to measure energy information comprising at least one of power, flow rate, gas, temperature, humidity, pressure, or weather data to generate measured energy information, and a communication interface configured to transmit the measured energy information”, “an apparatus for achieving carbon neutrality comprising at least one processor and a memory”. Each of the additional limitations is recited at a high level of generality and amounts to no more than mere instructions to apply the exception using a generic computer component. Accordingly, these additional elements, alone or in combination, do not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application because they do not impose any meaningful limits on practicing the abstract idea. The claim is directed to an abstract idea.
The claim does not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception. As discussed above with respect to integration of the abstract idea into a practical application, the additional elements, alone or in combination, are nothing more than mere instructions to apply the exception on a general computer.
Dependent claim 2/8/14 is also directed to an abstract idea without significantly more because it further narrows the abstract idea described in relation to claim 1 without successfully integrating the exception into a practical application or providing significantly more limitations.
Dependent claim 3/9/15 is also directed to an abstract idea without significantly more because it further narrows the abstract idea described in relation to claim 1 without successfully integrating the exception into a practical application (“deriving passive technology elements or active technology elements which are energy-saving elements, through machine learning-based energy optimization models and data mining” is recited at a high level of recitation which amounts to mere instructions to apply the exception in a computer environment) or providing significantly more limitations.
Dependent claim 4/10/16 is also directed to an abstract idea without significantly more because it further narrows the abstract idea described in relation to claim 1 without successfully integrating the exception into a practical application (“wherein optimizing the internal air includes configuring and providing the factory energy management system (FEMS) by reflecting results of analyzing the energy performance of the factories, industrial facilities, and the plants, the FEMS being configured to monitor, analyze, and control energy consumption of the factories, the industrial facilities, and the plants based on the reflected results” is recited at a high level of recitation which amounts to generally linking the abstract idea to a computer environment) or providing significantly more limitations.
Dependent claim 5/11/17 is also directed to an abstract idea without significantly more because it further narrows the abstract idea described in relation to claim 1 without successfully integrating the exception into a practical application (“control the loT-based ventilation device in a test bed to which the facility materials and the facility construction methods are applied, collect indoor air information from at least one loT-based sensor installed in the test bed; perform a simulation for indoor air based on the collected indoor air information; and derive the control settings for the loT-based ventilation system based on results of the simulation” is recited at a high level of recitation which amounts to generally linking the abstract idea to a computer environment. While the claim recites “controlling” a device and providing the settings to a system. The claim is silent how the “controlling” and “providing” is done (i.e. through a processor or manual human factor. Furthermore, it is unclear whether the ventilation device is the same as the ventilation system) or providing significantly more limitations.
Dependent claim 6/12/18 is also directed to an abstract idea without significantly more because it further narrows the abstract idea described in relation to claim 1 without successfully integrating the exception into a practical application (“a FEMS or a IoT based ventilation system installed in the factories” is recited at a high level of recitation which amounts to generally linking the abstract idea to a computer environment) or providing significantly more limitations.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 1-18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ko (KR 102565319) in view of Choi (WO 2022182092).
As per claim 1, Ko discloses a method for achieving carbon neutrality, comprising:
acquiring, via an energy information acquisition device including at least one sensor and a communication interface, energy information comprising at least one of power, flow rate, gas, temperature, humidity, pressure, or weather data from factories, industrial facilities, and plants ([0052] [For example, measuring devices such as watt-hour meters, flow meters, temperature/humidity, and illuminance sensors required according to the shape, space size, and type of facilities of the proposed building; And control devices such as lighting, boilers, air conditioners, heaters, gas, etc., and automatically set and provide facility operation information settings, monitoring plans, IoT-based data collection plans, etc. for optimal energy management.]”, [0023] [The online network referred to in the present invention may be a core network integrated with a wired public network, a wireless mobile communication network, or a portable Internet, etc. Several services exist, namely Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP), Hyper Text Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS), Telnet, File Transfer Protocol (FTP), Domain Name System (DNS), Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP), MQTT Protocol ( Message Queueing Telemetry Transport), IPFS (Inter Planetary File System), etc., and may refer to a worldwide open computer network structure, which is not limited to these examples and comprehensively refers to a data communication network capable of transmitting and receiving data in various forms. will do.] [0024] [The terminal in the present invention should be interpreted as including various communication means such as desktop, tablet, netbook, PDA (personal digital assistant), PMP (portable multimedia player), smart phone, wearable smart device, etc., web-based or separate Various functions provided by the server can be executed through software/applications of the server.]”, “0022] [ESG-based smart green construction carbon neutral platform (10, hereinafter carbon neutral platform) according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a consultant terminal 100, a smart green construction carbon neutral system (200, hereinafter carbon neutral system), an architect terminal ( 300), BEMS (Building Energy Management System, 400) and big data server 500, and each device can communicate with each other by being connected to a network.]”);
analyzing, by at least one processor,energy performance of the buildings based on the acquired energy information, and deriving energy saving factors and renewable energy production factors ( paragraph 26, “analyzes the energy performance of the building, derives energy saving factors and renewable energy production factors, evaluates harmful substances in indoor building materials, verifies the performance of eco-friendly indoor building materials/construction methods, and It performs control, monitoring and optimization analysis on energy consumption facilities inside and outside the building, and quantitatively measures/evaluates the ESG performance of the building and provides it.]”);
verifying, by the at least one processor, performance of facility materials and facility construction methods using simulation results generated from the acquired energy information, and optimizing internal air by generating control settings for an loT-based ventilation system (paragraph 59, “Air quality optimization unit 230 evaluates harmful substances in indoor building materials, verifies the performance of eco-friendly indoor building materials or eco-friendly construction methods, and proposes optimization of indoor air quality.”, “[0062] [The IoT simulation unit 232 builds a test bed to which eco-friendly materials and eco-friendly construction methods are applied, and analyzes and simulates indoor air quality by applying IoT-based monitoring/control technology.]”); and
quantitatively measuring and evaluating, by the at least one processor, environmental, social, and governance (ESG) achievement rates of the factories, the industrial facilities, and the plants based on operation data collected from a factory energy management system (FEMS) or the loT-based ventilation system (paragraph 74-78 “[The ESG performance evaluation unit 240 quantitatively measures / evaluates and provides ESG performance, and includes a carbon reduction calculation unit 241 and an ESG performance index calculation unit 242.]…[ESG performance indicator calculation unit 242 manages ESG evaluation indicators, analyzes IoT data collected from the BEMS 400 or air conditioning ventilation system installed in the building, and analyzes greenhouse gas emissions, energy consumption, renewable energy use rate, waste Evaluate at least one ESG evaluation index among emissions, water consumption, air pollutant emissions, use of eco-friendly certified products, indoor fine dust concentration, and indoor air pollutant generation amount.”).
However, Ko does not explicitly disclose but Choi discloses that the buildings are factories, industrial facilities, and plants (lines 12-15, 52-54, Choi discloses “an industrial complex energy management system configured to efficiently manage the energy required by various factories or industrial facilities lined up in the industrial complex, and in detail, each plant or It relates to an energy management system configured to cover the energy required by industrial facilities… it includes a power amount measuring unit for measuring the power consumption of the energy use, the integrated control unit, based on the data measured by the power amount measuring unit can control the compressed air supply unit and the power generation unit.”)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to include the limitation above as taught by Choi in the teaching of Ko, in order to provide a configuration that can supply various types of energy required by the energy users of the industrial complex (please see Choi lines 91-92).
As per claim 7, Ko discloses an apparatus for achieving carbon neutrality, comprising: at least one processor; a memory storing instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to: (paragraph 22-25)
receive energy information from an energy information acquisition device comprising at least one sensor and a communication interface ([0052] [For example, measuring devices such as watt-hour meters, flow meters, temperature/humidity, and illuminance sensors required according to the shape, space size, and type of facilities of the proposed building; And control devices such as lighting, boilers, air conditioners, heaters, gas, etc., and automatically set and provide facility operation information settings, monitoring plans, IoT-based data collection plans, etc. for optimal energy management.]”, [0023] [The online network referred to in the present invention may be a core network integrated with a wired public network, a wireless mobile communication network, or a portable Internet, etc. Several services exist, namely Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP), Hyper Text Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS), Telnet, File Transfer Protocol (FTP), Domain Name System (DNS), Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP), MQTT Protocol ( Message Queueing Telemetry Transport), IPFS (Inter Planetary File System), etc., and may refer to a worldwide open computer network structure, which is not limited to these examples and comprehensively refers to a data communication network capable of transmitting and receiving data in various forms. will do.] [0024] [The terminal in the present invention should be interpreted as including various communication means such as desktop, tablet, netbook, PDA (personal digital assistant), PMP (portable multimedia player), smart phone, wearable smart device, etc., web-based or separate Various functions provided by the server can be executed through software/applications of the server.]”, “0022] [ESG-based smart green construction carbon neutral platform (10, hereinafter carbon neutral platform) according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a consultant terminal 100, a smart green construction carbon neutral system (200, hereinafter carbon neutral system), an architect terminal ( 300), BEMS (Building Energy Management System, 400) and big data server 500, and each device can communicate with each other by being connected to a network.]”) ;
analyze energy performance of factories, industrial facilities, and plants based on the received energy information, and derive energy saving factors and renewable energy production factors ( paragraph 26, “analyzes the energy performance of the building, derives energy saving factors and renewable energy production factors, evaluates harmful substances in indoor building materials, verifies the performance of eco-friendly indoor building materials/construction methods, and It performs control, monitoring and optimization analysis on energy consumption facilities inside and outside the building, and quantitatively measures/evaluates the ESG performance of the building and provides it.]”);
verify performance of facility materials and facility construction methods using simulation results, and generate control settings for an loT-based ventilation system to optimize internal air (paragraph 59, “Air quality optimization unit 230 evaluates harmful substances in indoor building materials, verifies the performance of eco-friendly indoor building materials or eco-friendly construction methods, and proposes optimization of indoor air quality.”, “[0062] [The IoT simulation unit 232 builds a test bed to which eco-friendly materials and eco-friendly construction methods are applied, and analyzes and simulates indoor air quality by applying IoT-based monitoring/control technology.]”); and
quantitatively measure and evaluate environmental, social, and governance (ESG) achievement rates using data collected from a factory energy management system (FEMS) or the loT-based ventilation system (paragraph 74-78 “[The ESG performance evaluation unit 240 quantitatively measures / evaluates and provides ESG performance, and includes a carbon reduction calculation unit 241 and an ESG performance index calculation unit 242.]…[ESG performance indicator calculation unit 242 manages ESG evaluation indicators, analyzes IoT data collected from the BEMS 400 or air conditioning ventilation system installed in the building, and analyzes greenhouse gas emissions, energy consumption, renewable energy use rate, waste Evaluate at least one ESG evaluation index among emissions, water consumption, air pollutant emissions, use of eco-friendly certified products, indoor fine dust concentration, and indoor air pollutant generation amount.”).
However, Ko does not explicitly disclose but Choi discloses that the buildings are factories, industrial facilities, and plants (lines 12-15, 52-54, Choi discloses “an industrial complex energy management system configured to efficiently manage the energy required by various factories or industrial facilities lined up in the industrial complex, and in detail, each plant or It relates to an energy management system configured to cover the energy required by industrial facilities… it includes a power amount measuring unit for measuring the power consumption of the energy use, the integrated control unit, based on the data measured by the power amount measuring unit can control the compressed air supply unit and the power generation unit.”)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to include the limitation above as taught by Choi in the teaching of Ko, in order to provide a configuration that can supply various types of energy required by the energy users of the industrial complex (please see Choi lines 91-92).
As per claim 13, Ko discloses a system for achieving carbon neutrality, comprising:
an energy information acquisition device including at least one sensor configured to measure energy information comprising at least one of power, flow rate, gas, temperature, humidity, pressure, or weather data to generate measured energy information, and a communication interface configured to transmit the measured energy information (paragraph 28, “[BEMS (400) in the present invention monitors energy use details to maintain a pleasant indoor environment and efficiently manage energy in a building, and provides an optimized building energy management plan based on IoT integrated with measurement, control, management, and operation. It is an energy optimization system”…paragraph 29, “[The big data server 500 in the present invention collects data from the BEMS 400 installed in the building, the IoT-based smart air conditioning ventilation system, and the IoT-based test bed built for testing indoor air quality performance, Perform data preprocessing, analysis, and visualization. The data managed by the big data server 500 is used for AI (artificial intelligence)-based energy management/indoor air quality optimization model learning, energy efficiency analysis, and indoor air quality performance evaluation.]”); and
an apparatus for achieving carbon neutrality comprising at least one processor and a memory storing instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to: (paragraph 11, “an ESG performance evaluation unit that quantitatively measures/evaluates the ESG performance of the building “…paragraph 26, “[The carbon neutral system 200 in the present invention analyzes the energy performance of the building, derives energy saving factors and renewable energy production factors, evaluates harmful substances in indoor building materials, verifies the performance of eco-friendly indoor building materials/construction methods, and It performs control, monitoring and optimization analysis on energy consumption facilities inside and outside the building, and quantitatively measures/evaluates the ESG performance of the building and provides it.],”)
receive energy information from an energy information acquisition device ([0052] [For example, measuring devices such as watt-hour meters, flow meters, temperature/humidity, and illuminance sensors required according to the shape, space size, and type of facilities of the proposed building; And control devices such as lighting, boilers, air conditioners, heaters, gas, etc., and automatically set and provide facility operation information settings, monitoring plans, IoT-based data collection plans, etc. for optimal energy management.]”, [0023] [The online network referred to in the present invention may be a core network integrated with a wired public network, a wireless mobile communication network, or a portable Internet, etc. Several services exist, namely Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP), Hyper Text Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS), Telnet, File Transfer Protocol (FTP), Domain Name System (DNS), Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP), MQTT Protocol ( Message Queueing Telemetry Transport), IPFS (Inter Planetary File System), etc., and may refer to a worldwide open computer network structure, which is not limited to these examples and comprehensively refers to a data communication network capable of transmitting and receiving data in various forms. will do.] [0024] [The terminal in the present invention should be interpreted as including various communication means such as desktop, tablet, netbook, PDA (personal digital assistant), PMP (portable multimedia player), smart phone, wearable smart device, etc., web-based or separate Various functions provided by the server can be executed through software/applications of the server.]”, “0022] [ESG-based smart green construction carbon neutral platform (10, hereinafter carbon neutral platform) according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a consultant terminal 100, a smart green construction carbon neutral system (200, hereinafter carbon neutral system), an architect terminal ( 300), BEMS (Building Energy Management System, 400) and big data server 500, and each device can communicate with each other by being connected to a network.]”) ;
analyze energy performance of factories, industrial facilities, and plants based on the received energy information, and derive energy saving factors and renewable energy production factors ( paragraph 26, “analyzes the energy performance of the building, derives energy saving factors and renewable energy production factors, evaluates harmful substances in indoor building materials, verifies the performance of eco-friendly indoor building materials/construction methods, and It performs control, monitoring and optimization analysis on energy consumption facilities inside and outside the building, and quantitatively measures/evaluates the ESG performance of the building and provides it.]”);
verify performance of facility materials and facility construction methods using simulation results, and generate control settings for an loT-based ventilation system to optimize internal air (paragraph 59, “Air quality optimization unit 230 evaluates harmful substances in indoor building materials, verifies the performance of eco-friendly indoor building materials or eco-friendly construction methods, and proposes optimization of indoor air quality.”, “[0062] [The IoT simulation unit 232 builds a test bed to which eco-friendly materials and eco-friendly construction methods are applied, and analyzes and simulates indoor air quality by applying IoT-based monitoring/control technology.]”); and
quantitatively measure and evaluate environmental, social, and governance (ESG) achievement rates using data collected from a factory energy management system (FEMS) or the loT-based ventilation system (paragraph 74-78 “[The ESG performance evaluation unit 240 quantitatively measures / evaluates and provides ESG performance, and includes a carbon reduction calculation unit 241 and an ESG performance index calculation unit 242.]…[ESG performance indicator calculation unit 242 manages ESG evaluation indicators, analyzes IoT data collected from the BEMS 400 or air conditioning ventilation system installed in the building, and analyzes greenhouse gas emissions, energy consumption, renewable energy use rate, waste Evaluate at least one ESG evaluation index among emissions, water consumption, air pollutant emissions, use of eco-friendly certified products, indoor fine dust concentration, and indoor air pollutant generation amount.”).
However, Ko does not explicitly disclose but Choi discloses that the buildings are factories, industrial facilities, and plants (lines 12-15, 52-54, Choi discloses “an industrial complex energy management system configured to efficiently manage the energy required by various factories or industrial facilities lined up in the industrial complex, and in detail, each plant or It relates to an energy management system configured to cover the energy required by industrial facilities… it includes a power amount measuring unit for measuring the power consumption of the energy use, the integrated control unit, based on the data measured by the power amount measuring unit can control the compressed air supply unit and the power generation unit.”)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to include the limitation above as taught by Choi in the teaching of Ko, in order to provide a configuration that can supply various types of energy required by the energy users of the industrial complex (please see Choi lines 91-92).
As per claim 2/8/14, Ko discloses wherein deriving the energy saving factors and the renewable energy production factors includes performing energy modeling by reflecting information including at least one or a combination of shape information, weather information, insulation and heat generation information, facility information, facility efficiency information, and facility operation information of buildings (paragraphs 40-41, “[The energy analysis unit 221 performs energy modeling by reflecting building shape information, air conditioning facility information, meteorological data, insulation/heat information, equipment efficiency information, and air conditioning device operation schedules, and performs simulations on the cooling and heating load of the building. , analyze energy consumption, carbon emissions and thermal comfort”), and analyzing at least one or a combination of energy consumption, carbon emissions, and heat circulation of the factories, the industrial facilities, and the plants through energy simulation (paragraph 78, “analyzes greenhouse gas emissions, energy consumption, renewable energy use rate, waste Evaluate at least one ESG evaluation index among emissions, water consumption, air pollutant emissions, use of eco-friendly certified products, indoor fine dust concentration, and indoor air pollutant generation amount.]”).
However, Ko does not disclose but Choi discloses that the buildings are the factories, the industrial facilities, and the plants (lines 12-15, 52-54)(please see claim 1 rejection for combination rationale).
As per claim 3/9/15, Ko discloses wherein deriving the energy saving factors and the renewable energy production factors includes deriving passive technology elements or active technology elements which are energy-saving elements, through machine learning-based energy optimization models and data mining (paragraph 45, “through the machine learning-based energy optimization model learned using the energy consumption data collected from the BEMS (400) and IoT-based smart air conditioning ventilation system managed by the big data server (500), the passive and active technology elements of the building can be predicted.].”)
As per claim 4/10/16, Ko discloses wherein optimizing the internal air includes configuring and providing the factory energy management system (FEMS) by reflecting results of analyzing the energy performance of the factories, industrial facilities, and the plants, the FEMS being configured to monitor, analyze, and control energy consumption of the factories, the industrial facilities, and the plants based on the reflected results (“[0001] [The present invention is an energy performance analysis of buildings, energy saving factors, new renewable and unused energy production/utilization methods, eco-friendly indoor building materials and ecofriendly construction methods for systematic, rational, reliable and fast decision-making for the realization of carbon-neutral, eco-friendly low-energy buildings. It is about an ESG-based smart green building carbon-neutral platform that provides an integrated smart green carbon reduction solution by proposing a building-specific BEMS that controls and monitors/optimizes energy consumption facilities inside and outside the building and indoor air optimization method using . ]”, “[0026] [The carbon neutral system 200 in the present invention analyzes the energy performance of the building, derives energy saving factors and renewable energy production factors, evaluates harmful substances in indoor building materials, verifies the performance of eco-friendly indoor building materials/construction methods, and It performs control, monitoring and optimization analysis on energy consumption facilities inside and outside the building, and quantitatively measures/evaluates the ESG performance of the building and provides it.]”, paragraph 69, “The air quality improvement unit 234 reflects the indoor air quality analysis results collected from the simulation performed on the test bed to configure an IoT-based smart air conditioning ventilation system that optimizes indoor air when a specific eco-friendly indoor building material and eco-friendly construction method are applied. suggest.”).
However, Ko does not disclose but Choi discloses that the buildings are the factories, the industrial facilities, and the plants (lines 12-15, 52-54)(please see claim 1 rejection for combination rationale).
As per claim 5/11/17, Ko discloses wherein the generating of the control settings for the loT-based ventilation system comprises: controlling theloT-based ventilation device in a test bed to which the facility materials and the facility construction methods are applied, collecting indoor air information from at least one loT-based sensor installed in the test bed, performing a simulation for indoor air based on the collected indoor air information, and deriving the control settings for the loT-based ventilation system based on results of the simulation (paragraph 62-66, “[The IoT simulation unit 232 builds a test bed to which eco-friendly materials and eco-friendly construction methods are applied, and analyzes and simulates indoor air quality by applying IoT-based monitoring/control technology.]… [IoT simulation unit 232 collects sensor information installed in the IoT-based test bed, IoT-based smart installed in the test bed, B [attributes={}; value=[]], collects and analyzes indoor air quality data for a specific environment by controlling the air conditioning ventilator.]… [At this time, in the test bed, a mock-up of a specific space to which eco-friendly indoor building materials and eco-friendly construction methods are applied, IoT-based sensors for measuring the concentration of indoor harmful substances such as formaldehyde and volatile organic compounds and fine dust, and IoT-based smart , B[attributes={}; value=[]], an air-conditioning ventilation device is installed, which is to measure the effect of indoor building materials, construction methods, and air-conditioning ventilation systems that affect indoor air quality.]”).
As per claim 6/12/18, Ko discloses wherein quantitatively measuring and evaluating the ESG achievement rates include calculating a carbon reduction amount by applying a carbon emission factor, based on data collected from the FEMS or the loT-based ventilation system installed in the factories, the industrial facilities, and the plants, and evaluating ESG evaluation indicators for greenhouse gas emissions, energy consumption, a renewable energy usage ratio, waste emissions, water consumption, air pollutant emissions, indoor fine dust concentration, and indoor air pollutant generation (paragraph 75, “[The carbon reduction calculation unit 241 calculates the carbon emission factor in the content analyzed/suggested by the zero energy optimization unit 220 or various operational data such as the process, transportation, environment, and waste of the building or business site provided by the BEMS 400. Calculate the amount of carbon reduction by applying ]… paragraph 78, “[ESG performance indicator calculation unit 242 manages ESG evaluation indicators, analyzes IoT data collected from the BEMS 400 or air conditioning ventilation system installed in the building, and analyzes greenhouse gas emissions, energy consumption, renewable energy use rate, waste Evaluate at least one ESG evaluation index among emissions, water consumption, air pollutant emissions, use of eco-friendly certified products, indoor fine dust concentration, and indoor air pollutant generation amount.]“)
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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 nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) 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.
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OMAR . ZEROUAL
Examiner
Art Unit 3628
/OMAR ZEROUAL/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3628
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