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 .
This is a Non-Final Action on the Merits. Claims 1-12 are currently pending and are addressed below.
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on July 2nd, 2026 has been entered.
Response to Amendments
The Amendment filed on July 2nd, 2026 has been considered and entered. Accordingly, claims 1, 5, and 9 have been amended.
Response to Arguments
The Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1-12 have been considered but are moot in view of the newly formulated grounds of rejections necessitated by the Applicant’s Amendments.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on April 24th, 2026 has been considered and entered.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (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 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.
Claims 1-2, 5-6, and 9-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Strandberg (US 20200387278 A1) (“Strandberg”) in view of Bergin (US 20180147913 A1) (“Bergin”) in view of Kilinger (US 20090216383 A1) (“Kilinger”).
With respect to claim 1, Strandberg teaches an information processing method executed by at least one processor programmed to remotely control an air conditioner of a vehicle via a communication line, the method comprising:
receiving designation of a target vehicle to be remotely controlled, acquiring a type of aur conditioner included in the designated target vehicle; selecting, based on the acquired type of the air conditioner, a user interface from a plurality of user interfaces that is stored in a memory for remotely controlling the air conditioner of the vehicle; outputting the user interface that was selected (See at least Strandberg Paragraph 63 “For instance, example GUI 500 comprises various selectable graphical elements represented by selectable buttons or bars. The selectable buttons comprise text and icons to indicate the function or application they represent, which include for example, a navigation application, a phone application, a music application and a car settings function. The specific applications and/or functions represented in GUI 500 are merely exemplary and can vary. In accordance with this example implementation, the applications and/or functions can be selected/activated by touching or tapping anywhere within the defined area of the corresponding bar. GUI 500 also includes interactive controls for the HVAC system of the vehicle.” | Paragraph 52 “In some implementations, the remote-control application 216 can be tailored to a specific vehicle, such as a specific vehicle make, model, year, etc. With these implementations, the vehicle interface information can be built into or otherwise included with the remote-control application 216 based on the known features and functionalities of the touchscreen GUI installed with the specific vehicle make, model, year, etc. In this regard, many different versions of the remote-control application 216 can be developed and made available for download to or preinstalling on an auxiliary device 124, and an entity (e.g., a user or owner of a particular vehicle, the auxiliary device manufacturer, et.) can select and download or otherwise install the version of the remote-control application that corresponds to the particular vehicle the entity would like to remotely control. In other implementations, the remote-control application 216 can include a universal application that can be tailored to remotely control a variety of different vehicles with different makes, models, years, etc. With these implementations, the remote-control application 216 can be preconfigured with the interface information for the vehicle and/or provided access to interface information (e.g., at a network accessible system/database) for all of the different vehicles. The interface acquisition component 302 can further allow a user to provide input selecting the specific type of vehicle they would like to remotely control (e.g., by make, model, year, and/or other suitable criteria). Based on the received input, (e.g., selecting a specific make, model, year, etc.), the interface acquisition component 302 can access and retrieve (e.g., in memory 120 and/or from the network accessible system/database) the corresponding interface information for that vehicle.”).
Strandberg, however, fails to explicitly disclose acquiring a parameter related to air conditioning, the parameter being set via the user interface that was output; and issuing a control command for that remotely controls the air conditioner based on the parameter set via the user interface; wherein the plurality of user interfaces includes at least one of a first user interface that displays a numerical value set as a target room temperature and a second user interface that does not display the numerical value set as the target room temperature
Bergin teaches acquiring a parameter related to air conditioning, the parameter being set via the user interface that was output; and issuing a control command for that remotely controls the air conditioner based on the parameter set via the user interface (See at least Bergin FIGS. 4-11 and Paragraph 103-104 “From any of the modes 124, 126, 128, the operating characteristics within that mode may be adjusted by increasing or decreasing at step 136. For example, in the fan speed mode at step 124, increasing or decreasing the fan speed is possible utilizing the second and third areas 143, 144 (FIG. 6). Similarly, in the air conditioning mode at step 126, the increasing and decreasing steps at 136 may increase or decrease the set temperature for the HVAC system 22. Further, in the heating mode at step 128, increasing or decreasing at step 136 may increase or decrease the set temperature for the HVAC system 22. Further, from the thermostat emulation screen at step 120, a settings virtual button may be depressed at step 140. This may provide access to a plurality of settings, several of which are shown in FIG. 10 at step 142. These include, but are not limited to, changing the name of a Bluetooth connected thermostat, changing the settings from Fahrenheit to Celsius or vice versa, disconnecting the smart device 30 from the thermostat 24, or canceling or exiting the settings mode of step 140.”),
wherein the plurality of user interfaces includes at least one of a first user interface that displays a numerical value set as a target room temperature (See at least Bergin FIG. 8 and Paragraph 94 “Referring now to FIG. 8, a further view of the application 50 and the screen 140 emulating the thermostat screen 40 (FIG. 3) is shown. The mode virtual button in the first area 142 is selected to change the mode to a cooling mode. The cooling mode is depicted in the fourth area 145 with an icon related to the cooling mode and the set temperature is also depicted. The second and third areas 143, 144 may be depressed in order to change the set temperature in the cooling mode.”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the method of Strandberg to include acquiring a parameter related to air conditioning, the parameter being set via the user interface that was output; and issuing a control command for that remotely controls the air conditioner based on the parameter set via the user interface; wherein the plurality of user interfaces includes at least one of a first user interface that displays a numerical value set as a target room temperature, as taught by Bergin as disclosed above, in order to ensure optimal vehicle climate controls (Bergin Paragraph 7 “It would be desirable to overcome these and other difficulties of known systems to improve communication and control of one or more climate control devices which are mounted for mobile operation and which define a climate control system.”).
Strandberg in view of Bergin fails to explicitly disclose a second user interface that does not display the numerical value set as the target room temperature.
Kilinger teaches an interface that does not display the numerical value set as the target room temperature (See at least Kilinger FIG. 2 and Paragraphs 34-38 “FIG. 2 shows a schematic representation of a second user interface 10 for adjusting parameters of a climate control system in vehicles, wherein temperature T, air flow V and associated air volume setting S are provided as the parameters according to another embodiment of the present invention … The displaceable area 13 with dS=S132-S131 can especially be accentuated on the touch-sensitive surface 11 at a new point or point range T132, V132, S132. In FIG. 2, the temperature difference dT=T132−T131 means that the vehicle passenger would like to have a higher temperature T132, wherein a medium fan level Snew=S132 is also being set.”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the method of Strandberg in view Bergin to include a second user interface that does not display the numerical value set as the target room temperature, as taught by Kilinger as disclosed above, such that a second user interface does not display the numerical value set as the target room temperature, in order to ensure optimal air conditioning control to a user (Greiner Paragraph 18 “It would be desirable to develop a user interface for adjusting parameters of a climate control system in motor vehicles, which is suitably configured such that by touch actuating one area, all three parameters can be adjusted at the same time.”).
With respect to claim 2, and similarly claims 6 and 10, Strandberg in view of Bergin in view of Kilinger teach that the user interface is output to a display of a user terminal (See at least Bergin FIGS. 4-10 and Paragraph 79 “Referring now to FIG. 4, a front view of an embodiment of a smart device 30 is depicted. The smart device 30 may be a mobile computing device of a user such as, for example, a smart phone, a tablet, a laptop, a smart watch, smart glasses, etc. Computing or smart device 30 typically includes at least one processor which communicates with a number of peripheral devices via bus subsystem. These peripheral devices may include a storage subsystem, including, for example, a memory subsystem and a file storage subsystem, user interface input devices, user interface output devices, and a network interface subsystem. The input and output devices allow user interaction with computing device. Network interface subsystem provides an interface to outside networks and is coupled to corresponding interface devices in other devices.”).
With respect to claim 5, Strandberg teaches an information processing system that remotely controls an air conditioner of a vehicle via a communication line, the information processing system comprising:
a first processor programmed to:
receiving designation of a target vehicle to be remotely controlled, acquiring a type of aur conditioner included in the designated target vehicle; selecting, based on the acquired type of the air conditioner, a user interface from a plurality of user interfaces that is stored in a memory for remotely controlling the air conditioner of the vehicle; outputting the user interface that was selected (See at least Strandberg Paragraph 63 “For instance, example GUI 500 comprises various selectable graphical elements represented by selectable buttons or bars. The selectable buttons comprise text and icons to indicate the function or application they represent, which include for example, a navigation application, a phone application, a music application and a car settings function. The specific applications and/or functions represented in GUI 500 are merely exemplary and can vary. In accordance with this example implementation, the applications and/or functions can be selected/activated by touching or tapping anywhere within the defined area of the corresponding bar. GUI 500 also includes interactive controls for the HVAC system of the vehicle.” | Paragraph 52 “In some implementations, the remote-control application 216 can be tailored to a specific vehicle, such as a specific vehicle make, model, year, etc. With these implementations, the vehicle interface information can be built into or otherwise included with the remote-control application 216 based on the known features and functionalities of the touchscreen GUI installed with the specific vehicle make, model, year, etc. In this regard, many different versions of the remote-control application 216 can be developed and made available for download to or preinstalling on an auxiliary device 124, and an entity (e.g., a user or owner of a particular vehicle, the auxiliary device manufacturer, et.) can select and download or otherwise install the version of the remote-control application that corresponds to the particular vehicle the entity would like to remotely control. In other implementations, the remote-control application 216 can include a universal application that can be tailored to remotely control a variety of different vehicles with different makes, models, years, etc. With these implementations, the remote-control application 216 can be preconfigured with the interface information for the vehicle and/or provided access to interface information (e.g., at a network accessible system/database) for all of the different vehicles. The interface acquisition component 302 can further allow a user to provide input selecting the specific type of vehicle they would like to remotely control (e.g., by make, model, year, and/or other suitable criteria). Based on the received input, (e.g., selecting a specific make, model, year, etc.), the interface acquisition component 302 can access and retrieve (e.g., in memory 120 and/or from the network accessible system/database) the corresponding interface information for that vehicle.”).
Strandberg, however, fails to explicitly disclose acquiring a parameter related to air conditioning, the parameter being set via the user interface that was output; and issuing a control command for that remotely controls the air conditioner based on the parameter set via the user interface; wherein the plurality of user interfaces includes at least one of a first user interface that displays a numerical value set as a target room temperature and a second user interface that does not display the numerical value set as the target room temperature
Bergin teaches acquiring a parameter related to air conditioning, the parameter being set via the user interface that was output; and issuing a control command for that remotely controls the air conditioner based on the parameter set via the user interface (See at least Bergin FIGS. 4-11 and Paragraph 103-104 “From any of the modes 124, 126, 128, the operating characteristics within that mode may be adjusted by increasing or decreasing at step 136. For example, in the fan speed mode at step 124, increasing or decreasing the fan speed is possible utilizing the second and third areas 143, 144 (FIG. 6). Similarly, in the air conditioning mode at step 126, the increasing and decreasing steps at 136 may increase or decrease the set temperature for the HVAC system 22. Further, in the heating mode at step 128, increasing or decreasing at step 136 may increase or decrease the set temperature for the HVAC system 22. Further, from the thermostat emulation screen at step 120, a settings virtual button may be depressed at step 140. This may provide access to a plurality of settings, several of which are shown in FIG. 10 at step 142. These include, but are not limited to, changing the name of a Bluetooth connected thermostat, changing the settings from Fahrenheit to Celsius or vice versa, disconnecting the smart device 30 from the thermostat 24, or canceling or exiting the settings mode of step 140.”),
wherein the plurality of user interfaces includes at least one of a first user interface that displays a numerical value set as a target room temperature (See at least Bergin FIG. 8 and Paragraph 94 “Referring now to FIG. 8, a further view of the application 50 and the screen 140 emulating the thermostat screen 40 (FIG. 3) is shown. The mode virtual button in the first area 142 is selected to change the mode to a cooling mode. The cooling mode is depicted in the fourth area 145 with an icon related to the cooling mode and the set temperature is also depicted. The second and third areas 143, 144 may be depressed in order to change the set temperature in the cooling mode.”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the system of Strandberg to include acquiring a parameter related to air conditioning, the parameter being set via the user interface that was output; and issuing a control command for that remotely controls the air conditioner based on the parameter set via the user interface; wherein the plurality of user interfaces includes at least one of a first user interface that displays a numerical value set as a target room temperature, as taught by Bergin as disclosed above, in order to ensure optimal vehicle climate controls (Bergin Paragraph 7 “It would be desirable to overcome these and other difficulties of known systems to improve communication and control of one or more climate control devices which are mounted for mobile operation and which define a climate control system.”).
Strandberg in view of Bergin fails to explicitly disclose a second user interface that does not display the numerical value set as the target room temperature.
Kilinger teaches an interface that does not display the numerical value set as the target room temperature (See at least Kilinger FIG. 2 and Paragraphs 34-38 “FIG. 2 shows a schematic representation of a second user interface 10 for adjusting parameters of a climate control system in vehicles, wherein temperature T, air flow V and associated air volume setting S are provided as the parameters according to another embodiment of the present invention … The displaceable area 13 with dS=S132-S131 can especially be accentuated on the touch-sensitive surface 11 at a new point or point range T132, V132, S132. In FIG. 2, the temperature difference dT=T132−T131 means that the vehicle passenger would like to have a higher temperature T132, wherein a medium fan level Snew=S132 is also being set.”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the system of Strandberg in view Bergin to include a second user interface that does not display the numerical value set as the target room temperature, as taught by Kilinger as disclosed above, such that a second user interface does not display the numerical value set as the target room temperature, in order to ensure optimal air conditioning control to a user (Greiner Paragraph 18 “It would be desirable to develop a user interface for adjusting parameters of a climate control system in motor vehicles, which is suitably configured such that by touch actuating one area, all three parameters can be adjusted at the same time.”).
With respect to claim 9, Strandberg teaches an information processing device that requests remote control of an air conditioner of a vehicle via a communication line, the device comprising: a program stored in a memory; and at least one processor that executes the program to:
receiving designation of a target vehicle to be remotely controlled, acquiring a type of aur conditioner included in the designated target vehicle; selecting, based on the acquired type of the air conditioner, a user interface from a plurality of user interfaces that is stored in a memory for remotely controlling the air conditioner of the vehicle; outputting the user interface that was selected (See at least Strandberg Paragraph 63 “For instance, example GUI 500 comprises various selectable graphical elements represented by selectable buttons or bars. The selectable buttons comprise text and icons to indicate the function or application they represent, which include for example, a navigation application, a phone application, a music application and a car settings function. The specific applications and/or functions represented in GUI 500 are merely exemplary and can vary. In accordance with this example implementation, the applications and/or functions can be selected/activated by touching or tapping anywhere within the defined area of the corresponding bar. GUI 500 also includes interactive controls for the HVAC system of the vehicle.” | Paragraph 52 “In some implementations, the remote-control application 216 can be tailored to a specific vehicle, such as a specific vehicle make, model, year, etc. With these implementations, the vehicle interface information can be built into or otherwise included with the remote-control application 216 based on the known features and functionalities of the touchscreen GUI installed with the specific vehicle make, model, year, etc. In this regard, many different versions of the remote-control application 216 can be developed and made available for download to or preinstalling on an auxiliary device 124, and an entity (e.g., a user or owner of a particular vehicle, the auxiliary device manufacturer, et.) can select and download or otherwise install the version of the remote-control application that corresponds to the particular vehicle the entity would like to remotely control. In other implementations, the remote-control application 216 can include a universal application that can be tailored to remotely control a variety of different vehicles with different makes, models, years, etc. With these implementations, the remote-control application 216 can be preconfigured with the interface information for the vehicle and/or provided access to interface information (e.g., at a network accessible system/database) for all of the different vehicles. The interface acquisition component 302 can further allow a user to provide input selecting the specific type of vehicle they would like to remotely control (e.g., by make, model, year, and/or other suitable criteria). Based on the received input, (e.g., selecting a specific make, model, year, etc.), the interface acquisition component 302 can access and retrieve (e.g., in memory 120 and/or from the network accessible system/database) the corresponding interface information for that vehicle.”).
Strandberg, however, fails to explicitly disclose acquiring a parameter related to air conditioning, the parameter being set via the user interface that was output; and issuing a control command for that remotely controls the air conditioner based on the parameter set via the user interface; wherein the plurality of user interfaces includes at least one of a first user interface that displays a numerical value set as a target room temperature and a second user interface that does not display the numerical value set as the target room temperature
Bergin teaches acquiring a parameter related to air conditioning, the parameter being set via the user interface that was output; and issuing a control command for that remotely controls the air conditioner based on the parameter set via the user interface (See at least Bergin FIGS. 4-11 and Paragraph 103-104 “From any of the modes 124, 126, 128, the operating characteristics within that mode may be adjusted by increasing or decreasing at step 136. For example, in the fan speed mode at step 124, increasing or decreasing the fan speed is possible utilizing the second and third areas 143, 144 (FIG. 6). Similarly, in the air conditioning mode at step 126, the increasing and decreasing steps at 136 may increase or decrease the set temperature for the HVAC system 22. Further, in the heating mode at step 128, increasing or decreasing at step 136 may increase or decrease the set temperature for the HVAC system 22. Further, from the thermostat emulation screen at step 120, a settings virtual button may be depressed at step 140. This may provide access to a plurality of settings, several of which are shown in FIG. 10 at step 142. These include, but are not limited to, changing the name of a Bluetooth connected thermostat, changing the settings from Fahrenheit to Celsius or vice versa, disconnecting the smart device 30 from the thermostat 24, or canceling or exiting the settings mode of step 140.”),
wherein the plurality of user interfaces includes at least one of a first user interface that displays a numerical value set as a target room temperature (See at least Bergin FIG. 8 and Paragraph 94 “Referring now to FIG. 8, a further view of the application 50 and the screen 140 emulating the thermostat screen 40 (FIG. 3) is shown. The mode virtual button in the first area 142 is selected to change the mode to a cooling mode. The cooling mode is depicted in the fourth area 145 with an icon related to the cooling mode and the set temperature is also depicted. The second and third areas 143, 144 may be depressed in order to change the set temperature in the cooling mode.”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the apparatus of Strandberg to include acquiring a parameter related to air conditioning, the parameter being set via the user interface that was output; and issuing a control command for that remotely controls the air conditioner based on the parameter set via the user interface; wherein the plurality of user interfaces includes at least one of a first user interface that displays a numerical value set as a target room temperature, as taught by Bergin as disclosed above, in order to ensure optimal vehicle climate controls (Bergin Paragraph 7 “It would be desirable to overcome these and other difficulties of known systems to improve communication and control of one or more climate control devices which are mounted for mobile operation and which define a climate control system.”).
Strandberg in view of Bergin fails to explicitly disclose a second user interface that does not display the numerical value set as the target room temperature.
Kilinger teaches an interface that does not display the numerical value set as the target room temperature (See at least Kilinger FIG. 2 and Paragraphs 34-38 “FIG. 2 shows a schematic representation of a second user interface 10 for adjusting parameters of a climate control system in vehicles, wherein temperature T, air flow V and associated air volume setting S are provided as the parameters according to another embodiment of the present invention … The displaceable area 13 with dS=S132-S131 can especially be accentuated on the touch-sensitive surface 11 at a new point or point range T132, V132, S132. In FIG. 2, the temperature difference dT=T132−T131 means that the vehicle passenger would like to have a higher temperature T132, wherein a medium fan level Snew=S132 is also being set.”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the apparatus of Strandberg in view Bergin to include a second user interface that does not display the numerical value set as the target room temperature, as taught by Kilinger as disclosed above, such that a second user interface does not display the numerical value set as the target room temperature, in order to ensure optimal air conditioning control to a user (Greiner Paragraph 18 “It would be desirable to develop a user interface for adjusting parameters of a climate control system in motor vehicles, which is suitably configured such that by touch actuating one area, all three parameters can be adjusted at the same time.”).
Claims 3, 7, and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Strandberg (US 20200387278 A1) (“Strandberg”) in view of Bergin (US 20180147913 A1) (“Bergin”) in view of Kilinger (US 20090216383 A1) (“Kilinger”) further in view of Ogasawara (US 20040122564 A1) (“Ogasawara”).
With respect to claim 3, and similarly claims 7 and 11, Strandberg in view of Bergin in view of Kilinger fail to explicitly disclose that the first user interface is a first graphical user interface (GUI) and the second user interface is a second graphical user interface (GUI).
Ogasawara teaches that the first user interface is a first graphical user interface (GUI) and the second user interface is a second graphical user interface (GUI) (See at least Ogasawara FIG. 2 and Paragraphs 4-5 “The display apparatus comprises, as shown in FIG. 4, a main controller 6 for controlling an image-drawing process on a LCD panel 3 which is a display, and a switch controller 7 for controlling input/output processes of operation signals from touch switches 4 displayed on the LCD panel 3 and switches of an operation panel 5 provided around the LCD panel 3. The main controller 6 stores a control program including a common program common to all types of the vehicles on which the display apparatus might be mounted, and plural inherent programs inherent to each type of the vehicles. The switch controller 7 stores a vehicle type code showing a type of the vehicle on which the display apparatus should be mounted, in addition to a program for the input/output processes of the operation signals. When, for example, an air conditioner switch is operated, the main controller 6 obtains the vehicle type code from the switch controller 7 and displays an image including operation switches for an air conditioner, corresponding to the vehicle type code. That is, the main controller 6 makes effective the inherent program corresponding to the vehicle type code obtained from the switch controlling part 7 among the plural inherent programs.”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the method of Strandberg in view of Bergin in view of Kilinger to include that that the first user interface is a first graphical user interface (GUI) and the second user interface is a second graphical user interface (GUI), as taught by Ogasawara as disclosed above, in order to ensure accurate information is presented to a user (Ogasawara Paragraph 2 “This invention relates to an on-vehicle device control system capable of changing an operating condition of an on-vehicle device in accordance with a type of a vehicle on which the on-vehicle device is mounted.”).
Claims 4, 8, and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Strandberg (US 20200387278 A1) (“Strandberg”) in view of Bergin (US 20180147913 A1) (“Bergin”) in view of Kilinger (US 20090216383 A1) (“Kilinger”) in view of Ogasawara (US 20040122564 A1) (“Ogasawara”) further in view of Sugiyama (US 20150112489 A1) (“Sugiyama”).
With respect to claim 4, and similarly claims 8 and 12, Strandberg in view of Bergin in view of Kilinger in view of Ogasawara teach that the first interface displays the target room temperature numerically (See at least Bergin FIGS. 4-11) and the second user interface does not display the target room temperature numerically (See at least Greiner FIG. 4).
Strandberg in view of Bergin in view of Kilinger in view of Ogasawara fail to explicitly disclose that the first user interface and the second user interface includes a slider for setting the target room temperature.
Sugiyama teaches an interface that includes a slider for setting the target room temperature (See at least Sugiyama Paragraph 127 “The graph area 310 includes a first slide bar 301 used to make a user set a preset temperature at the go-to-bed time, a second slide bar 302 used to make a user set a preset temperature at the boundary time, a third slide bar 303 used to make a user set a preset temperature at the wake-up time, and a temperature scale 305, which is the vertical axis. Here, the boundary time is a time in the early morning when the body temperature of human beings bottoms out in accordance with the circadian rhythm, and is assumed to be 4 a.m.”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the method of Strandberg in view of Bergin in view of Kilinger in view of Ogasawara to include an interface that includes a slider for setting the target room temperature, as taught by Sugiyama as disclosed above, such that the first and second user interface include the slider, in order to ensure that a user can accurately see and set the aur conditioning settings (Sugiyama Paragraph 2 “The present disclosure relates to a control method for an information terminal device that controls an air conditioner over a network and to a non-transitory computer readable recording medium”).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to IBRAHIM ABDOALATIF ALSOMAIRY whose telephone number is (571)272-5653. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7:30-5:30.
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/IBRAHIM ABDOALATIF ALSOMAIRY/Examiner, Art Unit 3667 /KENNETH J MALKOWSKI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3667
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