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.
The USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The actual filing date of the application in which the form is filed determines what form (e.g., PTO/SB/25, PTO/SB/26, PTO/AIA /25, or PTO/AIA /26) should be used. A web-based eTerminal Disclaimer may be filled out completely online using web-screens. An eTerminal Disclaimer that meets all requirements is auto-processed and approved immediately upon submission. For more information about eTerminal Disclaimers, refer to www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/applying-online/eterminal-disclaimer.
Claims 1-20 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-15 of U.S. Patent No. 12,166,805. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because the limitations of the present claims are broader and similar in scope to that of the claims of U.S. Patent No. 12,166,805 with different in wording variations. For example:
Claim 1 of the present invention
Claim 9 of U.S. Patent No. 12,166,805
1. An operating room control system comprising:
an operating room control unit configured to control communication and data flow within an operating room;
a conferencing unit configured to communicate with a remote third party server hosting a cloud-based conference, wherein the conferencing unit is in communication with the operating room control unit;
and a memory having software stored thereon configured to run one or more cloud-based video conferencing systems, wherein the memory is accessible by the operating room control unit, thereby providing the cloud-based conferencing unit access to each cloud-based video conference in the memory.
1. An operating room control system for a medical facility comprising: a signal routing unit including a router embedded in an integrated circuit configured to automatically scale and route signals for multiple devices of the operating room in real time, the signals comprising image data, wherein the signal routing unit comprises: a first input configured to receive, from a first medical facility source device, input signals comprising image data of a first image resolution; a first output configured to send, to a destination device, output signals comprising image data from the first medical facility source device at the first image resolution; and a second output configured to send, to a destination device, output signals comprising image data from the first medical facility source device at a second image resolution lower than the first image resolution; wherein the router is configured to automatically connect the first input to the first and second outputs of the signal routing unit and automatically adjust the signal provided to the particular output to match the image resolution of the output, wherein if the first input is connected to the first output, the signal routing unit is configured to route each input signal received by the first input to the first output for sending by the first output as an output signal comprising image data of the first image resolution without modification; and if the first input is connected to the second output, the signal routing unit is configured to dynamically scale the image data of each input signal received by the first input to reduce the resolution to the second image resolution and to automatically route the scaled input signal to the second output for sending by the second output as an output signal comprising image data of the second image resolution; and a user interface operable to dynamically control, based on real time inputs to the user interface, which of the first and second outputs of the signal routing unit is connected to the first input, wherein the first input is connectable to any one of the first or second output, or both the first output and the second output simultaneously.
9. The operating room control system of claim 1, further comprising:
an operating room control unit configured to control communication and data flow within an operating room;
a conferencing unit configured to communicate with a remote third party server hosting a cloud-based conference, wherein the conferencing unit is in communication with the operating room control unit;
and a memory having software stored thereon configured to run one or more cloud-based video conferencing systems, wherein the memory is accessible by the operating room control unit, thereby providing the conferencing unit access to each cloud-based video conference in the memory.
From the above claim comparison, the limitations of claim 1 of present invention are covered/anticipated by claim 9 (claims 1+9) of U.S. Patent No. 12,166,805. Independent claim 17 is the counterpart of method claim 9 and therefore rejected for the same reason addressed. The remaining dependent claims are either directly or indirectly taught by the claims of U.S. Patent No. 12,166,805.
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 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 of this title, 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 and 17-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Baghdadi et al (US 2010/0295870) in view of Mink et al (US 2017/0032092).
Consider claims 1 and 17, Baghdadi et al teach an operating room control system and method comprising: an operating room control unit configured to control communication and data flow within an operating room (par. 0005; “This device offers connectivity between medical professionals by enabling real-time interactive consultation across rooms or continents”); a conferencing unit configured to communicate with a remote third party server hosting a This device offers connectivity between medical professionals by enabling real-time interactive consultation across rooms or continents”; par. 0033-0034; “The video connectivity device 10 also provides IP network server access as well as video and audio via local area network (LAN)/internet. A recording station may be coupled to a LAN to record video footage on a standard PC or another machine. Multiple users can access the video/audio stream simultaneously via the Ethernet connection”; “another embodiment of the video connectivity device 10 coupled to a networking system such as a hospital network 5. The networking system may be associated with a station for chief of surgery 27 and at least one clinician 29 and 31. These clinicians may be able to view images or video by means of the video connectivity device. The networking system may be associated with a separate network such as an auditorium network 37 for viewing of images or video by means of the video connectivity device. The network 5 may be connected to a remote location 35 and network router 33 via Ethernet/web transmission”); and a memory having software stored thereon configured to run one or more As shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, processors, memory, switches, regulators and other elements may be added to the scalar board to enable video, image or data output signals to be transmitted to the display”).
Baghdadi et al did not explicitly suggest where the video conference is cloud-based. In the same field of endeavor, Mink et al teach telehealth video conferencing system for providing a real-time or near real-time tele-conference with multiple health care providers simultaneously utilizing cloud-based video conference (par. 0100; claim 13). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Baghdadi’s system to provide for cloud-based video conference facility as this arrangement would make available widespread access for medical procedures as taught by Mink.
Consider claim 18, Baghdadi et al teach further comprising: receiving, from a source device, an input signal at a first input of a signal routing unit of an operating room control system, the input signal comprising image data of a first image resolution (par. 0040; “the digital signal may then be transmitted to the adjuster 170 to match the resolution and other attributes of the display”); connecting, by the signal routing unit, the first input to one or more outputs of the signal routing unit, the one or more outputs comprising a first output configured to send, to the conferencing unit, output signals comprising image data of the first image resolution (par. 0040; “the digital signal may then be transmitted to the adjuster 170 to match the resolution and other attributes of the display”; it is implicit that the resolution may be increased, decreased or kept as it is when it is "matched"), and a second output configured to send, to the conferencing unit, output signals comprising image data of a second image resolution lower than the first image resolution (par. 0040; “the digital signal may then be transmitted to the adjuster 170 to match the resolution and other attributes of the display”; it is implicit that the resolution may be increased, decreased or kept as it is when it is "matched"; par. 0095; “For each display, a user may select the primary and secondary inputs. ... A user may set the streaming resolution. Since the maximum resolution for video output streamed out is 1920x1080, it will be down scaled to this resolution if it was set to 1920x1200”).
Claim 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Baghdadi et al (US 2010/0295870) in view of Mink et al (US 2017/0032092) and further in view of MCardle (2019/0149768).
Consider claim 2, the combination does not explicitly suggest wherein the memory comprises a database configured to store one or more entries, each one or more entries comprising a connection address to an associated cloud-based video conference and providing access to the associated cloud-based video conference from the database, wherein the database is accessible by the operating room control unit. However, Mcardle discloses: wherein the memory comprises a database configured to store one or more entries, the or each entry comprising a connection address to a cloud-based video conference and providing access to the cloud-based video conference from the database, wherein the database is accessible by the operating room control unit (par. 0004-0005; 0077-0078; “A server in the cloud may store scheduled conference call information for the registered codec, and transmit information regarding the scheduled conference call to the registered mobile phone application to allow a user of the mobile phone application to initiate the scheduled conference call stored on the server. This approach is limited to specific videoconferencing components and videoconferencing service providers that are registered with the proprietary cloud-based service”). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the combination to provide for: wherein the memory comprises a database configured to store one or more entries, the or each entry comprising a connection address to a cloud-based video conference and providing access to the cloud-based video conference from the database, wherein the database is accessible by the operating room control unit as this arrangement would facilitate connection establishment for conference as taught by Mcardle.
Consider claim 3, the combination teaches wherein activating one of the one or more entries in the database causes the conferencing unit to automatically follow the connection address for the cloud-based video conference, authenticate a user's credentials for joining the cloud-based video conference, and start receiving a data stream from the cloud-based video conference (par. 0043; 0071 of MCardle; “Each videoconferencing room 104A and 104B may allow access to anyone with a login credential (e.g., a login credential of a control application on the smartphone 112), to only users that have an authenticated email address from a specific domain (e.g., john.doe@nike.com where nike.com is the specific domain), to only a predefined list of users, to only a single user for a private office, etc.”; “Optionally, the smartphone may automatically connect to the server 102 to begin controlling the system controller 108A or 108B once the reservation is completed. In other embodiments, the smartphone 112 may wait for activation of a button on a user interface, etc. before connecting to the server 102 to begin controlling the system controller 108A or 108B, etc.”).
Consider claim 4, Baghdadi et al teach wherein the operating room control unit comprises a touchscreen operable by a user for controlling the operating room control system, wherein each one or more entries of the database is accessible through user operation of the touch screen (par. 0043; “The controller 50 is coupled to interfaces 55, 70 and the normalizer 100. The controller 50 determines which input channel signal is to be transmitted to the scalar board. The controller 50 may receive selection and control commands from interfaces 55, 60, 70 and decode the control commands. Based on the command, one or more of the video inputs to the scalar board will be directed to the display. The controller 50 responds to the interfaces 55, 70 (i.e., front panel buttons or user touch screen interface) to control functionality of the video connectivity device 10”).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5-16 and 19-20 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims and overcome the above double patenting rejection.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Any response to this action should be mailed to:
Mail Stop ____(explanation, e.g., Amendment or After-final, etc.) Commissioner for Patents
P.O. Box 1450
Alexandria, VA 22313-1450
Facsimile responses should be faxed to:
(571) 273-8300
Hand-delivered responses should be brought to:
Customer Service Window
Randolph Building
401 Dulany Street
Alexandria, VA 22314
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to QUOC DUC TRAN whose telephone number is (571) 272-7511. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8:30am - 5pm.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Duc Nguyen can be reached on (571) 272-7503. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/Quoc D Tran/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2691
July 10, 2026
Prosecution Insights