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 .
Double Patenting
The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP § 2146 et seq. for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
The filing of a terminal disclaimer by itself is not a complete reply to a nonstatutory double patenting (NSDP) rejection. A complete reply requires that the terminal disclaimer be accompanied by a reply requesting reconsideration of the prior Office action. Even where the NSDP rejection is provisional the reply must be complete. See MPEP § 804, subsection I.B.1. For a reply to a non-final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.111(a). For a reply to final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.113(c). A request for reconsideration while not provided for in 37 CFR 1.113(c) may be filed after final for consideration. See MPEP §§ 706.07(e) and 714.13.
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Claims 1-20 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claim 1-11 of U.S. Patent No. 12,200,811 in view of Liu et al (U.S. 2021/0400339), hereinafter Liu.
With respect to Claim 1,
12,200,811– Claim 1 & 3
18/966,703 – Claim 1
1. A method of controlling a home appliance, the method comprising:
1. A home appliance comprising:
a communication module;
at least one memory storing at least one instruction; and
at least one processor connected to the at least one memory, wherein the at least one processor is configured to execute the at least one instruction to:
by a home appliance, outputting, via Bluetooth low energy (BLE) advertising, a BLE advertising packet including service set identifier (SSID)-related information related to an SSID of a software enabled access point (Soft AP) of the home appliance in a new product state in which the home appliance has not been registered in a server;
during a first time interval, via the communication module, by performing Bluetooth low energy (BLE) advertising, output a BLE advertising packet including service set identifier (SSID)-related information related to an SSID of a software enabled access point (Soft AP) of the home appliance in a new product state in which the home appliance has not been registered in a server, and
outputting a Wi-Fi beacon of the Soft AP;
during the first time interval, output a Wi-Fi beacon of the Soft AP via the communication module,
in response to a connection request for the Soft AP received from a mobile device after outputting the Wi-Fi beacon, establishing a Wi-Fi communication connection between the mobile device and the Soft AP;
based on receiving a connection request for the Soft AP from a mobile device after outputting the Wi-Fi beacon, establish a Wi-Fi communication connection between the mobile device and the Soft AP,
receiving, from the mobile device via the Wi-Fi communication connection, a control signal related to an initial setting operation of registering the home appliance in the server;
receive, from the mobile device via the Wi-Fi communication connection, a control signal related to an initial setting operation of registering the home appliance in the server,
and performing the initial setting operation, based on the received control signal.
perform the initial setting operation, based on the received control signal, and
by the home appliance, during a first time interval,
in the case that the Wi-Fi communication connection between the mobile device and the Soft AP is not initiated during the first time interval, repeat the actions of the first time interval until the establishing of the Wi-Fi communication connection between the mobile device and the Soft AP is initiated.
With respect to Clam 1, Although the conflicting claims are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because the claim is redrafted from a method to an apparatus claim, adding necessary hardware for the apparatus to function, and changing the scope of the new independent claims by adding some of the limitations from Claim 4 of the parent case to the claims of the current case.
It has been held that the omission of an element and its function is an obvious expedient if the remaining elements perform the same function as before. In re karlson, 136 USPQ 184 (CCPA). Also, note Ex Parte Raine 168 USPQ 376 (bd. App 1969); omission of a reference whose function is not needed would be obvious to one skilled in the art.
With respect to Claim 2, the claim readds some of the other limitations from dependent claim 4 that are shown as struck through above, and is rejected accordingly.
With respect to Claim 3, the claim readds some of the other limitations from dependent claim 4 that are shown as struck through above with different phrasing, and is rejected accordingly.
With respect to Claim 4, the parent application fails to explicitly teach wherein the communication module comprises a BLE communication module configured to output the BLE advertising packet, and a Wi-Fi communication module configured to output the Wi-Fi beacon, and the BLE communication module and the Wi-Fi communication module are commonly powered or not powered by a common power source.
Liu teaches wherein the communication module comprises a BLE communication module configured to output the BLE advertising packet, and a Wi-Fi communication module configured to output the Wi-Fi beacon, and the BLE communication module and the Wi-Fi communication module are commonly powered or not powered by a common power source (¶ 0049, “In some embodiments of the disclosure, as shown in FIG. 4, the display apparatus 110 may include a Bluetooth module 111 and a WIFI module 112 that share the same power supply, that is, the Bluetooth module 111 and the WIFI module 112 may be integrated on a same chip. When the display apparatus is powered on, the WIFI module and the Bluetooth module are both in activated state.”)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the filing of the application to combine the invention of Liu with the parent application in order to combine the wifi and Bluetooth module onto a single chip as it reduces production costs in the system of the parent patent.
With respect to Claim 5, the claim corresponds to claim 2 of the parent application.
With respect to Claim 6, the claim corresponds to claim 3 of the parent application.
With respect to Claim 7, the claim corresponds to claim 5 of the parent application.
With respect to Claim 8, the claim corresponds to claim 6 of the parent application.
With respect to Claim 9, the claim corresponds to claim 7 of the parent application.
With respect to Claim 10, the claim corresponds to claim 8 of the parent application.
With respect to Claim 11, the claim corresponds to claim 9 of the parent application.
With respect to Claim 12-19, the claims are the method corresponding to the apparatus of Claim 1-11, with similar changes to the claim 1 above, and is rejected accordingly.
With respect to Claim 20, the claim is the non-transitory computer-readable recording medium corresponding to the method of claim 1 above, and is rejected accordingly.
Conclusion
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/ANGELA NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2479
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