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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The Information Disclosure Statements filed on 12/30/2024, 02/18/2025, and 07/23/2026 have been acknowledged and considered by examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 10 recites the limitation “determining, based on the first information about the first control device, a type of the first piece of pool or spa equipment based, wherein the type is one of” (line 4). The inclusion of the word “based” preceding the “wherein” clause is a typographical error that breaks the logical flow of the claim and renders the scope unclear. A possible correction would be to delete the word “based, ”.
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.
Claims 1-4, 6-12, and 14-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ovalle (US 2021/0283010) in view of Jimi et al. (US 2015/0120004).
With regards to claim 1, Ovalle teaches a pool automation controller (controller 50) for detecting electrical components (pump 52 and heater 54) of a pool or spa system (spa 10), comprising: one or more electrical ports, each electrical port configured to receive a connection to a control device associated with a piece of pool or spa equipment (“The spa 10 can include a controller 50… The pump 52 and heater 54 can be electrically coupled to the controller 50 and configured to receive operating instructions from the controller 50” [0066] – [0067]);
one or more non-transitory computer-readable media; and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the one or more non-transitory computer-readable media (“controller 50 can be a computer processor or computer device, as is known in the art, including computer readable memory with instructions…” [0066]), the one or more processors configured to execute processor-executable instructions stored in the non-transitory computer-readable media to perform operations (“…that, when executed, cause the controller 50 to receive information…” [0066]) including:
outputting, to a first electrical port, a test signal; determining an electrical measurement for the first electrical port using the test signal (“self-test can include cycling power to electronic components of the spa and measuring a response of the respective components… as power is being cycled to the different components, power output for the respective components can be monitored by power sensors (e.g., voltage or current sensors) in electrical communication with different spa components” [0101]);
and recording first information about the first control device (“the data measured by sensors on the spa, such as current or voltage information for electrical components of the spa, is transmitted to the central server over a cellular network or over the Internet” [0103]).
While Ovalle teaches utilizing the electrical measurement to identify faults, Ovalle does not teach identifying a first control device for a first piece of pool or spa equipment based on the electrical measurement.
However, Jimi et al. teaches identifying a first control device for a first piece of pool or spa equipment based on the electrical measurement (“recognizer may be configured to recognize the type of the interface module based on the digital signal output from the analog-to-digital converter” [0034]).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the pool automation controller of Ovalle to incorporate the hardware identification logic of Jimi et al. wherein it identifies a first control device for a first piece of pool or spa equipment based on the electrical measurement in order to “facilitate maintenance in case of trouble” and avoid significant cost increases (Jimi et al. [0008] and [0015]).
With regards to claim 2, Ovalle as modified by Jimi et al. teaches the pool automation controller of claim 1. Ovalle further teaches wherein recording the first information about the first control device comprises: outputting, to a client device (“central server 110 can be associated with a user accessible website or web portal 114 including a user interface” [0080]), the first information to cause the client device to generate a request for second information about a mapping of the first piece of pool or spa equipment to the first control device using a user interface (“displaying information collected by the sensors associated with the spa” [0080]); and receiving, from the client device, the second information about the mapping, wherein the second information about the mapping is useable to update a system status (“website or web portal 114 can also be used for remotely controlling the spa in real time or for scheduling spa operations for a future time” [0080]) for the pool or spa system.
With regards to claim 3, Ovalle as modified by Jimi et al. teaches the pool automation controller of claim 1. Ovalle further teaches wherein the one or more processors are configured to execute additional processor-executable instructions stored in the non-transitory computer-readable media to perform additional operations comprising: outputting, to a plurality of electrical ports, a test signal for each electrical port (“self-test can include cycling power to electronic components of the spa and measuring a response of the respective components” [0101]); determining an electrical measurement for each electrical port of the plurality of electrical ports (“power output for the respective components can be monitored by power sensors (e.g., voltage or current sensors) in electrical communication with different spa components” [0101]) using the respective test signals;
recording second information about the plurality of control devices; receiving, from a client device, for each control device of the plurality of control devices, information about an association of the control device with a piece of pool or spa equipment; and outputting, to the client device, a system status including a mapping of a piece of pool or spa equipment for each control device of the plurality of control devices (“central server 110 can be associated with a user accessible website or web portal 114 including a user interface for displaying information collected by the sensors associated with the spa… website or web portal 114 can also be used for remotely controlling the spa in real time or for scheduling spa operations for a future time… user interface screen 200 can also include a section 220 for remotely programming filtration settings or a pump operation schedule for the spa…” [0078], [0080], and [0086]).
Jimi et al. further teaches identifying a plurality of control devices for pieces of pool or spa equipment based on the corresponding electrical measurements (“A plurality of field devices FD and interface modules 10 may be provided with respect to the signal processing module 20” [0049]);
With regards to claim 4, Ovalle as modified by Jimi et al. teaches the pool automation controller of claim 1. Ovalle further teaches further comprising a digital interface (“communications interface 82”) and wherein the one or more processors are configured to execute additional processor-executable instructions stored in the non-transitory computer-readable media to perform additional operations comprising: receiving second information about a second piece of pool or spa equipment, wherein the second piece of pool or spa equipment is communicatively coupled with the pool automation controller via the digital interface (“communications interface 82, such as a cellular or wireless transceiver, for communicating information from spa 10 to a central server or monitoring station and for receiving operating instructions from the central server or monitoring station” [0074]);
and recording third information about the second piece of pool or spa equipment, wherein the third information is useable to update a system status for the pool or spa system (“website or web portal 114 can also be used for remotely controlling the spa in real time or for scheduling spa operations for a future time… user interface screen 200 can also include a section 220 for remotely programming filtration settings or a pump operation schedule for the spa…” [0078], [0080], and [0086]).
With regards to claim 6, Ovalle as modified by Jimi et al. the pool automation controller of claim 1. Ovalle further teaches wherein the test signal is output to the first electrical port (“sensor measurements can be obtained…” [0101]) in response to a triggering event, the triggering event being one of: a startup of the pool automation controller; an expiration of a periodically occurring predetermined period of time (“during periodically scheduled… self-tests” [0101]); or a detection of a connection to the first electrical port (“…manually initiated self-tests performed by different spa components” [0101]).
With regards to claim 7, Ovalle as modified by Jimi et al. teaches the pool automation controller of claim 1. Jimi et al. further teaches wherein: the first control device is a valve actuator (“the field device FD includes… an actuator device…” [0050]); and the first piece of pool or spa equipment is a valve configured to direct flow of water to or from a body of water associated with the pool or spa system (“…a valve device such as a flow rate control valve or open and close value…” [0050]).
With regards to claim 8, Ovalle as modified by Jimi et al. teaches the pool automation controller of claim 1. Ovalle further teaches wherein: the first control device is an electromechanical relay (“the spa 10 can include an electric circulation pump 52…” [0067]); and the first piece of pool or spa equipment is one of a pump, a heater, or a light (“the spa 10 can include… a heater 54” [0067]).
With regards to claim 9, Ovalle as modified by Jimi et al. teaches the pool automation controller of claim 1. Ovalle further teaches wherein: the first piece of pool or spa equipment is a temperature sensor; and the first control device is the temperature sensor (“Sensors for measuring a condition of the water can include a water temperature sensor 58” [0068]).
With regards to claim 10, Ovalle as modified by Jimi et al. teaches the pool automation controller of claim 1. Jimi et al. further teaches wherein the one or more processors are configured to execute additional processor-executable instructions stored in the non-transitory computer-readable media to perform an additional operation comprising: determining, based on the first information about the first control device, a type of the first piece of pool or spa equipment based, wherein the type is one of a valve, a pump, a heater, or a light (“a signal processing apparatus 1… includes a circuit (device type identification circuit) including a resistance 51 (device type identification resistance) and an identification terminal T14 (device type identification terminal)… FIG. 5A shows a state that a sensor device FD1 as the field device FD is in connection with the interface module 10. On the other hand, FIG. 5B shows a state that a valve device FD2 as the field device FD is in connection with the interface module 10…” [0088] – [0092]).
With regards to claim 11, Ovalle as modified by Jimi et al. teaches the pool automation controller of claim 1. Jimi et al. further teaches wherein: outputting, to the first electrical port, the test signal comprises applying a predetermined voltage across one or more terminals of the first electrical port to cause a current in a circuit including the one or more terminals of the first electrical port and the first control device (“resistance 22 is provided between the power source PS and the connection terminal T22, and is serially connected to the resistance 11 of the interface module 10 via the connection terminal T22”); and the electrical measurement for the first electrical port is one of a first measurement of the current (“resistance 11”) in the circuit or a second measurement of a voltage drop based on at least one voltage determined using the one or more terminals of the first electrical port (“resistance 22 divides the voltage of the power source PS in conjunction with the resistance 11” [0056], [0061], and [0065]).
With regards to claim 12, Ovalle as modified by Jimi et al. teaches the pool automation controller of claim 1. Ovalle as modified by Jimi et al. further teaches wherein the test signal is applied for a predetermined first duration, the predetermined first duration being less than a second duration required to activate the first piece of pool or spa equipment (Ovalle teaches providing the test signal by power-cycling ([0101]), and Jimi et al. teaches applying the sensing voltage strictly for device identification via an ADC detector circuit ([0062] and [0067]).). In the combined system, outputting the identification test signal for a duration shorter than the mechanical/electrical activation time of the equipment is an inherent and obvious parameter choice to measure the terminal’s electrical signature without fully energizing or mechanically latching the heavy load.
With regards to claim 14, Ovalle teaches a method, comprising: outputting, to a first electrical port, a test signal; determining an electrical measurement for the first electrical port using the test signal (“self-test can include cycling power to electronic components of the spa and measuring a response of the respective components… as power is being cycled to the different components, power output for the respective components can be monitored by power sensors (e.g., voltage or current sensors) in electrical communication with different spa components” [0101]);
and recording first information about the first control device (“the data measured by sensors on the spa, such as current or voltage information for electrical components of the spa, is transmitted to the central server over a cellular network or over the Internet” [0103]).
While Ovalle teaches utilizing the electrical measurement to identify faults, Ovalle does not teach identifying a first control device for a first piece of pool or spa equipment based on the electrical measurement.
However, Jimi et al. teaches identifying a first control device for a first piece of pool or spa equipment based on the electrical measurement (“recognizer may be configured to recognize the type of the interface module based on the digital signal output from the analog-to-digital converter” [0034]).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the pool automation controller of Ovalle to incorporate the hardware identification logic of Jimi et al. wherein it identifies a first control device for a first piece of pool or spa equipment based on the electrical measurement in order to “facilitate maintenance in case of trouble” and avoid significant cost increases (Jimi et al. [0008] and [0015]).
With regards to claim 15, Ovalle as modified by Jimi et al. teaches the pool automation controller of claim 14. Ovalle further teaches further comprising: outputting, to a client device, the first information to cause the client device to generate a request for second information about a mapping of the first piece of pool or spa equipment to the first control device using a user interface; and receiving, from the client device, the second information about the mapping (“central server 110 can be associated with a user accessible website or web portal 114 including a user interface for displaying information collected by the sensors associated with the spa…” [0080]), wherein the second information about the mapping is useable to update a system status for the pool or spa system (“…website or web portal 114 can also be used for remotely controlling the spa in real time or for scheduling spa operations for a future time” [0080]).
With regards to claim 16, Ovalle as modified by Jimi et al. teaches the pool automation controller of claim 14. Ovalle further teaches further comprising: outputting, to a plurality of electrical ports, a test signal for each electrical port (“self-test can include cycling power to electronic components of the spa and measuring a response of the respective components…” [0101]); determining an electrical measurement for each electrical port of the plurality of electrical ports using the respective test signals (“…as power is being cycled to the different components, power output for the respective components can be monitored by power sensors (e.g., voltage or current sensors) in electrical communication with different spa components” [0101]);
recording second information about the plurality of control devices; receiving, from a client device, for each control device of the plurality of control devices, information about an association of the control device with a piece of pool or spa equipment; and outputting, to the client device, a system status including a mapping of a piece of pool or spa equipment for each control device of the plurality of control devices (“central server 110 can be associated with a user accessible website or web portal 114 including a user interface for displaying information collected by the sensors associated with the spa… website or web portal 114 can also be used for remotely controlling the spa in real time or for scheduling spa operations for a future time… user interface screen 200 can also include a section 220 for remotely programming filtration settings or a pump operation schedule for the spa…” [0078], [0080], and [0086]).
Jimi et al. further teaches identifying a plurality of control devices for pieces of pool or spa equipment based on the corresponding electrical measurements (“A plurality of field devices FD and interface modules 10 may be provided with respect to the signal processing module 20” [0049]);
With regards to claim 17, Ovalle as modified by Jimi et al. teaches the pool automation controller of claim 14. Jimi et al. further teaches wherein: the first control device is a valve actuator (“the field device FD includes… an actuator device…” [0050]); and the first piece of pool or spa equipment is a valve configured to direct flow of water to or from a body of water associated with the pool or spa system (“the field device FD includes… a valve device such as a flow rate control valve or open and close value…” [0050]).
With regards to claim 18, Ovalle as modified by Jimi et al. teaches the pool automation controller of claim 14. Ovalle further teaches wherein: the first control device is an electromechanical relay (“the spa 10 can include an electric circulation pump 52…” [0067]); and the first piece of pool or spa equipment is one of a pump, a heater, or a light (“the spa 10 can include… a heater 54” [0067]).
With regards to claim 19, Ovalle as modified by Jimi et al. teaches the pool automation controller of claim 14. Ovalle as modified by Jimi et al. further teaches wherein the test signal is applied for a predetermined first duration, the predetermined first duration being less than a second duration required to activate the first piece of pool or spa equipment (Ovalle teaches providing the test signal by power-cycling ([0101]), and Jimi et al. teaches applying the sensing voltage strictly for device identification via an ADC detector circuit ([0062] and [0067]).). In the combined system, outputting the identification test signal for a duration shorter than the mechanical/electrical activation time of the equipment is an inherent and obvious parameter choice to measure the terminal’s electrical signature without fully energizing or mechanically latching the heavy load.
With regards to claim 20, Ovalle teaches a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing processor-executable instructions (“controller 50 can be a computer processor or computer device, as is known in the art, including computer readable memory with instructions…” [0066]) configured to cause one or more processors to: output, to a first electrical port, a test signal; determine an electrical measurement for the first electrical port using the test signal (“self-test can include cycling power to electronic components of the spa and measuring a response of the respective components… as power is being cycled to the different components, power output for the respective components can be monitored by power sensors (e.g., voltage or current sensors) in electrical communication with different spa components” [0101]);
and record first information about the first control device (“the data measured by sensors on the spa, such as current or voltage information for electrical components of the spa, is transmitted to the central server over a cellular network or over the Internet” [0103]).
While Ovalle teaches utilizing the electrical measurement to identify faults, Ovalle does not teach identify a first control device for a first piece of pool or spa equipment based on the electrical measurement.
However, Jimi et al. teaches identify a first control device for a first piece of pool or spa equipment based on the electrical measurement (“recognizer may be configured to recognize the type of the interface module based on the digital signal output from the analog-to-digital converter” [0034]).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the pool automation controller of Ovalle to incorporate the hardware identification logic of Jimi et al. wherein it identifies a first control device for a first piece of pool or spa equipment based on the electrical measurement in order to “facilitate maintenance in case of trouble” and avoid significant cost increases (Jimi et al. [0008] and [0015]).
Claims 5 and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ovalle (US 2021/0283010) in view of Jimi et al. (US 2015/0120004) and Leeb et al. (US 2013/0141088).
With regards to claim 5, Ovalle as modified by Jimi et. al teaches The pool automation controller of claim 1. Ovalle further teaches recording third information about the second piece of pool or spa equipment, wherein the third information is useable to update a system status for the pool or spa system (“central server 110 can be associated with a user accessible website or web portal 114 including a user interface for displaying information collected by the sensors associated with the spa… website or web portal 114 can also be used for remotely controlling the spa in real time or for scheduling spa operations for a future time… user interface screen 200 can also include a section 220 for remotely programming filtration settings or a pump operation schedule for the spa…” [0078], [0080], and [0086]).
Ovalle as modified by Jimi et al. does not teach further comprising one or more inductance coils configured to measure a current induced by an alternating-current (“AC”) electrical input, and wherein the one or more processors are configured to execute additional processor-executable instructions stored in the non-transitory computer-readable media to perform additional operations comprising: receiving second information about one or more first induced currents from the one or more inductance coils for a second piece of pool or spa equipment; identifying the second piece of pool or spa equipment based on the one or more first induced currents.
However, Leeb et al. teaches further comprising one or more inductance coils configured to measure a current induced by an alternating-current (“AC”) electrical input (“the current signal is measured using a magnetic field sensor wrapped around the utility feed…” [0005]), and wherein the one or more processors are configured to execute additional processor-executable instructions stored in the non-transitory computer-readable media to perform additional operations comprising: receiving second information about one or more first induced currents from the one or more inductance coils for a second piece of pool or spa equipment (“A coil of wire may be wound around the core 902 to produce a voltage signal Vsig representative of the power flowing through conductor…” [0086] – [0087]);
identifying the second piece of pool or spa equipment based on the one or more first induced currents (“NILM system can identify and monitor individual loads on a power distribution system by measuring the frequency content of transient events in the current signals” [0005]).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the port level identification system of Ovalle as modified by Jimi et al. to implement the inductive sensors of Leeb et al. wherein further comprising one or more inductance coils configured to measure a current induced by an alternating-current (“AC”) electrical input, and wherein the one or more processors are configured to execute additional processor-executable instructions stored in the non-transitory computer-readable media to perform additional operations comprising: receiving second information about one or more first induced currents from the one or more inductance coils for a second piece of pool or spa equipment; identifying the second piece of pool or spa equipment based on the one or more first induced currents to “to determine information about power usage and behavior of the loads connected to the circuit breaker, without modification of the circuit breaker or its associated wiring” and “provide an easy-to-install, low-cost power monitoring solution at the circuit breaker” ([0006] and [0038] Leeb et al.).
With regards to claim 13, Ovalle as modified by Jimi et al. teaches the pool automation controller of claim 1. Jimi et al. further teaches automatically generating information about an association of the first control device with the identified first piece of pool or spa equipment (“the identification result (recognition result) of the type of the interface module 10… is collected by the monitoring device 103 via the controller 102. In addition,… the identification result of the type of the field device FD are also collected by the monitoring device 103.” [0101]).
Ovalle as modified by Jimi et al. does not teach further comprising one or more inductance coils configured to measure a current induced by an AC electrical input and wherein the one or more processors are configured to execute additional processor-executable instructions stored in the non-transitory computer-readable media to perform additional operations comprising: receiving information about one or more first induced currents from the one or more inductance coils for the first piece of pool or spa equipment connected to the first electrical port; identifying the first piece of pool or spa equipment based on the one or more first induced currents.
However, Leeb et al. teaches further comprising one or more inductance coils configured to measure a current induced by an AC electrical input (“the current signal is measured using a magnetic field sensor wrapped around the utility feed…” [0005]) and wherein the one or more processors are configured to execute additional processor-executable instructions stored in the non-transitory computer-readable media to perform additional operations comprising: receiving information about one or more first induced currents from the one or more inductance coils for the first piece of pool or spa equipment connected to the first electrical port (“the current signal is measured using a magnetic field sensor wrapped around the utility feed… A coil of wire may be wound around the core 902 to produce a voltage signal Vsig representative of the power flowing through conductor…” [0086] – [0087]);
identifying the first piece of pool or spa equipment based on the one or more first induced currents (“NILM system can identify and monitor individual loads on a power distribution system by measuring the frequency content of transient events in the current signals” [0005]).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the port level identification system of Ovalle as modified by Jimi et al. to implement the inductive sensors of Leeb et al. further comprising one or more inductance coils configured to measure a current induced by an AC electrical input and wherein the one or more processors are configured to execute additional processor-executable instructions stored in the non-transitory computer-readable media to perform additional operations comprising: receiving information about one or more first induced currents from the one or more inductance coils for the first piece of pool or spa equipment connected to the first electrical port; identifying the first piece of pool or spa equipment based on the one or more first induced currents to “to determine information about power usage and behavior of the loads connected to the circuit breaker, without modification of the circuit breaker or its associated wiring” and “provide an easy-to-install, low-cost power monitoring solution at the circuit breaker” ([0006] and [0038] Leeb et al.).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to OSAMAH MURSHED whose telephone number is (571)272-9534. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 11 a.m. 8 p.m. ET..
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/OSAMAH MURSHED/ Examiner, Art Unit 2858
/JUDY NGUYEN/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2858
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