DETAILED ACTION
This Office Action is in response to the application filed on December 9, 2024. Claims 1-20 are pending and are examined.
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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 1-3, 10-13, and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent Publication No. 2016/0019427 (“Martin”) in view of U.S. Patent Publication No. 2018/0191668 (“Yu”).
With respect to claim 1, Martin discloses the invention substantially as claimed, including
A facility planning and monitoring system (see Abstract, Figs. 1, 16-18, ¶¶11-12, 15-17, 65, 202, 211, 231, 239, describing a security surveillance/computer vision system for monitoring/detecting firearms from a live video stream of a facility and planning a response to such detections, i.e., a facility planning and monitoring system) comprising:
a mobile application (see Fig. 1, item 105, ¶¶66, 243, 247, describing that user devices may be mobile devices that receive alerts via SMS, email, text message, etc. – one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing would have understood these functions (i.e., SMS, email, text, etc.) to be mobile applications on such a mobile electronic device);
an electronic user device (see Fig. 1, item 105, ¶¶65-66, 202, 243, describing a communication node/client device, e.g., phone, for receiving electronic alerts, e.g., via text, SMS, e-mail, etc. and displaying them, i.e., an electronic user device);
a server (see Fig. 1, item 103, ¶¶10-11, 15, 97, 200, describing a computer/processing engine which may be a server);
a communication network (see Fig. 1, items 102, 106, ¶¶199, describing a communication/connection network connecting the cameras to the processing engine/computer);
a view module (see Abstract Fig. 11, 16, ¶¶12, 26-28, 58-61, 65-68, 200, 208-211, 236-239, 243-245, 248, 254, 268, 287-294, describing that the host server/processing engine may include modules, i.e., view modules, for detecting and tracking objects in source images representing FOVs of cameras, i.e., providing views, of live persons/traffic within the building/facility for analysis)
a facility management module (see ¶¶202, 239, describing that the system may manage the facility/building by being used to set off alarms, activate barriers, gates, door locks, and perform/manage other defensive measures within the facility, i.e., may act as a facility management module);
a settings module (see Fig. 5, items 512-513, ¶¶56-57, 256-259, describing that the system may contain modules for handling data streams, networks, installations, customers, alerts, software maintenance, system maintenance, and calibration, including the calibration of camera geospatial coordinates, calibration for assessing foreground versus background, etc. – one of ordinary skill in the art would have understood such handling systems and calibration systems to include the control of settings, i.e., such a module operates as a settings module);
a facility camera (see Figs. 1, 3, 11, 16-17, items 101, 1103, 1602, 1703, ¶¶11, 15-16, 21, 51, 53, 95, 198, 238, describing video surveillance cameras); and
an object detector (see Abstract, Figs. 1-2, 4, 11, 16, 18, items 101, 203, 401, 403, “objects detection”, 310-330, 1604, 1804, ¶¶15-19, 26-28, 205-206, 208. 220-221, 236-238, 254, describing an object/weapon/threat detection module, i.e., object detector);
wherein said application accesses said server using said communication network (see citations and arguments with respect to elements above, and Fig. 1, items 102, 106, ¶¶200, describing that the client devices 105, which as described above communicate alerts with the user via an application, are coupled to, i.e., access, the processing engine/host server 103 using the communication network);
wherein said server having said view module for providing views of live traffic within a facility (see Abstract, Fig. 11, 16, ¶¶12, 26-28, 54, 67-68, 97, 200, 208-211, 236-238, 248, 254, 268, 287-294, describing that the host server/processing engine may include modules, i.e., view modules, for detecting and tracking objects in source images representing FOVs of cameras, i.e., providing views, of live persons/traffic within the building/facility for analysis);
wherein said facility camera providing a live stream view of said facility managed by said facility management module (see citations above and Abstract, Figs. 2-3, 11, 16, items “scene analysis”, 310-330, ¶¶11-12, 15-19, 26-28, 202, describing that the facility cameras provide a live stream of the facility, and that this system may be used to activate defenses within the facility, barriers, gates, doors, alarms, etc., i.e., it provides a live view of the facility managed by the facility management module);
wherein said live stream view is a live stream video uniquely identified based on an [] address of said facility camera (see citations above, describing that the video analyzed is a live stream video, and ¶¶56-57, 259, 293-295, describing that such video may be uniquely identified based on the geospatial coordinates of the source camera, i.e., the address of said facility camera);
wherein said object detector identifies an object within said live stream video (see citations above and Abstract, Figs. 2-4, 16, 18, items “GUN ID”, 310-330, 401, 403, 1604, 1804, ¶¶11-12, 15-19, 26-28, 65-66, 68, describing that the modules may identify/detect an object, e.g., a weapon, and that this is done within the live stream video); and
further wherein said object is selected from the group consisting of a firearm, a pistol, a shotgun, and an assault rifle (see citations with respect to element above, describing that the object/weapon may be a gun/firearm).
Martin does not explicitly disclose that the surveillance cameras are uniquely identified based on IP stream address.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Yu discloses that it was known to identify surveillance cameras based on a unique IP stream address (see ¶¶11, 16, describing that it was known for streaming cameras to have assigned IP addresses, i.e., IP stream addresses, which allow access to that camera to obtain streaming images/video from that camera).
As detailed above, Martin uses multiple surveillance cameras that may be accessed by a server and/or user devices. Martin uses geospatial coordinates to identify the different cameras (see citations above). At the time of filing, one of ordinary skill would have been familiar with multi-camera surveillance and monitoring systems and have understood that the different cameras/feeds in such systems may be accessed/identified in different manners, including, as evidence by YU, using unique IP stream addresses. Accordingly, to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing, allowing for access to and/or identification of Martin’s cameras based on IP stream address would have represented nothing more than the combination of prior art elements according to predictable results and/or the simple substitution of one known element for another to obtain predictable results.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to include a mechanism for uniquely identifying cameras based on IP stream address in the surveillance system of Martin as taught by Yu.
With respect to claim 2, Martin discloses the invention substantially as claimed. As described above, Martin in view of Yu discloses all the elements of independent claim 1. Martin/Yu additionally discloses:
wherein when said object is detected is said live stream video, said live stream video stream is automatically recorded including recording an area location, a date, and a time of occurrence of said object detection (see citations and arguments with respect to claim 1 above and Martin Fig. 18, item 1804, ¶¶249, 296, describing that the system may, in times of an alert, i.e., when an object is detected in the livestream, the livestream may record/store permanently the video stream and that in such times, the video may include date, time, and location).
The reasons for combining the cited prior art with respect to claim 1 also apply to claim 2.
With respect to claim 3, Martin discloses the invention substantially as claimed. As described above, Martin in view of Yu discloses all the elements of dependent claim 2. Martin/Yu additionally discloses:
wherein said facility management module having a plurality of submodules (see citations and arguments with respect to claim 1 above, describing that the facility management module may set off alarms, activate gates, door locks, barriers, etc., i.e., it has a plurality of submodules for performing such functions).
The reasons for combining the cited prior art with respect to claim 1 also apply to claim 3.
With respect to claim 10, Martin discloses the invention substantially as claimed. As described above, Martin in view of Yu discloses all the elements of independent claim 1. Martin/Yu additionally discloses:
A facility planning and monitoring system (see citations and arguments with respect to corresponding element of claim 1 above) comprising:
a mobile application (see citations and arguments with respect to corresponding element of claim 1 above);
an electronic user device (see citations and arguments with respect to corresponding element of claim 1 above);
a server (see citations and arguments with respect to corresponding element of claim 1 above);
a communication network (see citations and arguments with respect to corresponding element of claim 1 above);
a view module (see citations and arguments with respect to corresponding element of claim 1 above)
a facility management module (see citations and arguments with respect to corresponding element of claim 1 above);
a settings module (see citations and arguments with respect to corresponding element of claim 1 above);
a notification client (see Martin Fig. 1, item 105, ¶¶65-67, 243-245, 249, 254, 258, 263, 297, describing that a respondent, i.e., notification client, receives an alert/notification by the system);
a facility camera (see citations and arguments with respect to corresponding element of claim 1 above); and
an object detector (see citations and arguments with respect to corresponding element of claim 1 above);
wherein said application accesses said server using said communication network (see citations and arguments with respect to corresponding element of claim 1 above);
wherein said server having said view module for providing views of live traffic within a facility (see citations and arguments with respect to corresponding element of claim 1 above);
wherein said facility camera providing a live stream view of said facility managed by said facility management module (see citations and arguments with respect to corresponding element of claim 1 above);
wherein said live stream view is a live stream video uniquely identified based on an IP stream address of said facility camera (see citations and arguments with respect to corresponding element of claim 1 above);
wherein said object detector identifies a weapon object within said live stream video (see citations and arguments with respect to corresponding element of claim 1 above);
wherein said notification client receives a push notification from said server (see citations and arguments with respect to notification element above and Fig. 1 showing that such notification may come from server 103 and Yu Fig. 2, items 280, 285, ¶21, describing that it was known for camera video streams and messages/alert information to be sent to a mobile/client device via push notifications); and
further wherein said push notification is an alert when said weapon object is detected (see citations and arguments with respect to element above and claim 1 above, describing that the alert may be a push notification and that the alert may be sent when a weapon/firearm is detected).
At the time of filing, one of ordinary skill would have been familiar with alerting users of mobile devices, including security system alerts, and have understood that, as evidenced by Yu, such alerts may be push notifications. Such notifications have the benefit of being real-time notifications that capture the attention of the user – in a system requiring immediate response, one of ordinary skill in the art would understand such notifications to be beneficial. Accordingly, one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing would have been motivated to include such a push notification, as taught by Yu, in the surveillance and notification system of Martin/Yu in order to obtain this advantage. Moreover, to such a person, doing so would have represented nothing more than the combination of prior art elements according to predictable results and/or the simple substitution of one known element for another to obtain predictable results.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to include alert push notifications in the surveillance notification system of Martin/Yu as taught by Yu.
With respect to claim 11, Martin discloses the invention substantially as claimed. As described above, Martin in view of Yu discloses all the elements of independent claim 10. Martin/Yu additionally discloses:
wherein said weapon object is selected from the group consisting of a firearm, a pistol, a shotgun, and an assault rifle (see citations and arguments with respect to corresponding element of claim 1 above).
The reasons for combining the cited prior art with respect to claims 1 and 10 also apply to claim 11.
With respect to claim 12, Martin discloses the invention substantially as claimed. As described above, Martin in view of Yu discloses all the elements of independent claim 10. Martin/Yu additionally discloses:
wherein when said weapon object is detected is said live stream video, said live stream video stream is automatically recorded including recording an area location, a date, and a time of occurrence of said weapon object detection (see citations and arguments with respect to corresponding element of claim 2 above).
The reasons for combining the cited prior art with respect to claims 1 and 10 also apply to claim 12.
With respect to claim 13, Martin discloses the invention substantially as claimed. As described above, Martin in view of Yu discloses all the elements of dependent claim 12. Martin/Yu additionally discloses:
wherein said facility management module having a plurality of submodules (see citations and arguments with respect to corresponding element of claim 3 above).
The reasons for combining the cited prior art with respect to claims 1 and 10 also apply to claim 13.
With respect to claim 20, Martin discloses the invention substantially as claimed. As described above, Martin in view of Yu discloses all the elements of independent claim 1. Martin/Yu additionally discloses:
A facility planning and monitoring system (see citations and arguments with respect to corresponding element of claim 1 above) comprising:
a mobile application (see citations and arguments with respect to corresponding element of claim 1 above);
an electronic user device (see citations and arguments with respect to corresponding element of claim 1 above);
a server (see citations and arguments with respect to corresponding element of claim 1 above);
a communication network (see citations and arguments with respect to corresponding element of claim 1 above);
a view module (see citations and arguments with respect to corresponding element of claim 1 above);
a facility management module (see citations and arguments with respect to corresponding element of claim 1 above);
a settings module (see citations and arguments with respect to corresponding element of claim 1 above);
a notification client (see citations and arguments with respect to corresponding element of claim 10 above);
a facility camera (see citations and arguments with respect to corresponding element of claim 1 above); and
an object detector (see citations and arguments with respect to corresponding element of claim 1 above);
wherein said application accesses said server using said communication network (see citations and arguments with respect to corresponding element of claim 1 above);
wherein said server having said view module for providing views of live traffic within a facility (see citations and arguments with respect to corresponding element of claim 1 above);
wherein said facility camera providing a live stream view of said facility managed by said facility management module (see citations and arguments with respect to corresponding element of claim 1 above);
wherein said live stream view is a live stream video uniquely identified based on an IP stream address of said facility camera (see citations and arguments with respect to corresponding element of claim 1 above);
wherein said object detector identifies a weapon object within said live stream video (see citations and arguments with respect to corresponding element of claim 1 above);
wherein said notification client receives a push notification from said server (see citations and arguments with respect to corresponding element of claim 1 above);
wherein said push notification is an alert when said weapon object is detected (see citations and arguments with respect to corresponding element of claim 1 above); and
further wherein said notification client correlates said object detector with a location of said facility camera that detected said weapon object (see citations and arguments with respect to claims 1 and 10 above including Martin, Figs. 16-18, ¶¶281, 293, 297, describing that, when a weapon object is detected, the notification client may receive a push notification alert and that this alert/notification may include the camera feed and location of the camera where the weapon was detected).
The reasons for combining the cited prior art with respect to claims 1 and 10 also apply to claim 20.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
Claims 4-9 and 14-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Martin in view of Yu and further in view of U.S. Patent Publication No. 2018/0167591 (“Maliuk”).
With respect to claim 4, Martin discloses the invention substantially as claimed. As described above, Martin in view of Yu discloses all the elements of dependent claim 3.
Martin/Yu does not explicitly disclose wherein said settings module establishes authorized users and administrative functions to said authorized users.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Maliuk discloses that it was known to authorize users and provide them with administrative functions:
wherein said settings module establishes authorized users and administrative functions to said authorized users (see Fig. 1, item 130, ¶¶46, 71, 89, describing that it was known for modules of surveillance system servers to include the establishment of viewers, i.e., authorized users, and permissions/appropriate information, i.e., establishes administrative functions to said authorized users).
At the time of filing, one of ordinary skill would have been familiar with security systems that provide remote alerts to user devices and their setup and have understood that, as evidenced by Maliuk, such systems may beneficially include setup for authorized users to receive alerts and permissions allowing them to use the system appropriately, e.g., administratively. If such setup did not occur, either no one could access the alerts/perform administrative functions or everyone could. Where both privacy and security are desired, this is less than ideal. Accordingly, one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing would have been motivated to include such setup/permissions, as taught by Maliuk, in the surveillance system of Martin/Yu in order to obtain this advantage. Moreover, to such a person, doing so would have represented nothing more than the combination of prior art elements according to predictable results and/or the simple substitution of one known element for another to obtain predictable results.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to include a mechanism for setup establishing authorized users and administrative permissions in the surveillance system and remote notification system of Martin/Yu as taught by Maliuk.
With respect to claim 5, Martin discloses the invention substantially as claimed. As described above, Martin in view of Yu and Maliuk discloses all the elements of dependent claim 4. Martin/Yu/Maliuk additionally discloses:
further comprising a floor plan view providing a 360-degree view of a floor of said facility, wherein said floor plan view displaying a layout of the floor of said facility (see citations and arguments with respect to claims 1 and 4 above and Martin Figs. 16-18, ¶¶91, 287, 292, 295, describing that the view may include a floor plan view providing a 360 degree view of a floor of said facility displaying the layout of the facility).
The reasons for combining the cited prior art with respect to claims 1 and 4 also apply to claim 5.
With respect to claim 6, Martin discloses the invention substantially as claimed. As described above, Martin in view of Yu and Maliuk discloses all the elements of independent claim 5. Martin/Yu/Maliuk additionally discloses:
wherein said authorized user is an administrator, further wherein said administrator switches views between said floor plan views of different sections of said facility (see citations and arguments with respect to claim 1 above, describing that the video may include floor plans/layout of the facility associated with cameras and Maliuk Figs. 3A-3C, ¶¶16-17, describing that an authorized user may be an administrator and may switch views between different camera views within the facility to view different sections of the facility).
As detailed above, Martin/Yu/Maliuk teaches a multi-camera security system that allows for viewing of a floor plan of a facility and cameras for surveillance of sections of that facility. At the time of filing, one of ordinary skill would have been familiar with multi-camera security systems viewed by a user and have understood that, as evidenced by Maliuk, such systems may benefit from allowing an authorized user to switch between different camera views (which capture different FOVs of the facility). Such a person would have understood that doing so would allow for a clearer understanding of a potential threat through viewing of different angles, different rooms (to identify multiple actors working in concert, etc.), or to compensate for malfunctioning cameras. Accordingly, to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing, allowing the switching of camera views by administrators, as taught by Maliuk in the floor plan view camera security system of Martin/Yu/Maliuk would have been understood to be beneficial and would have represented nothing more than the combination of prior art elements according to predictable results and/or the simple substitution of one known element for another to obtain predictable results.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to include a mechanism for allowing administrators to switch between camera views, i.e., floor plan views of different sections of the facility, in the floor plan view camera security system of Martin/Yu/Maliuk as taught by Maliuk.
With respect to claim 7, Martin discloses the invention substantially as claimed. As described above, Martin in view of Yu and Maliuk discloses all the elements of dependent claim 6. Martin/Yu/Maliuk additionally discloses:
wherein at least a first said authorized user receives said alert activated by another authorized user upon detection of said object (see citations and arguments with respect to claims 1-6 above and Martin ¶¶12, 239, 244, 297, describing that the recipient, i.e., authorized user, may receive an alert activated by another authorized user who flags/verifies/escalates the alert).
The reasons for combining the cited prior art with respect to claims 1, 4, and 6 also apply to claim 7.
With respect to claim 8, Martin discloses the invention substantially as claimed. As described above, Martin in view of Yu and Maliuk discloses all the elements of dependent claim 7. Martin/Yu/Maliuk additionally discloses:
wherein said alert is selected from the group consisting of an SMS message and an email (see citations and arguments with respect to claims 1-7 above and Martin ¶¶66, 243, describing that the alert may be an SMS or email message).
The reasons for combining the cited prior art with respect to claims 1, 4, and 6 also apply to claim 8.
With respect to claim 9, Martin discloses the invention substantially as claimed. As described above, Martin in view of Yu and Maliuk discloses all the elements of dependent claim 8. Martin/Yu/Maliuk additionally discloses:
wherein said facility management module having a facility setup submodule for creating, editing, and removing of one or more said facility in the facility planning and monitoring system (see citations and arguments with respect to claims 1-8 above and Martin ¶¶56-57, 129, 239, 258-259, 295, describing that the system may include a facility management module and that the mechanisms within such a system may be installed, maintained, granted access, pre-calibrated, etc., i.e., the surveillance/monitoring items within the facility are setup by the system and allow for installation/initiation, calibration, and maintenance, i.e., creating, editing, and removing, of items within the system).
The reasons for combining the cited prior art with respect to claim 1, 4, and 6 also apply to claim 9.
With respect to claim 14, Martin discloses the invention substantially as claimed. As described above, Martin in view of Yu discloses all the elements of dependent claim 13 and Martin in view of Yu and Maliuk discloses all the elements of dependent claim 4, the combination of which is incorporated herein. Martin/Yu/Maliuk additionally discloses:
wherein said settings module establishes authorized users and administrative functions to said authorized users (see citations and arguments with respect to corresponding element of claim 4 above).
The reasons for combining the cited prior art with respect to claims 1, 10, and 4 also apply to claim 14.
With respect to claim 15, Martin discloses the invention substantially as claimed. As described above, Martin in view of Yu and Maliuk discloses all the elements of dependent claim 14. Martin/Yu/Maliuk additionally discloses:
further comprising a floor plan view providing a 360-degree view of a floor of said facility, wherein said floor plan view displaying a layout of the floor of said facility (see citations and arguments with respect to corresponding element of claim 5 above).
The reasons for combining the cited prior art with respect to claims 1, 10, and 4 also apply to claim 15.
With respect to claim 16, Martin discloses the invention substantially as claimed. As described above, Martin in view of Yu and Maliuk discloses all the elements of dependent claim 15. Martin/Yu/Maliuk additionally discloses:
wherein said authorized user is an administrator, further wherein said administrator switches views between said floor plan views of different sections of said facility (see citations and arguments with respect to corresponding element of claim 6 above).
The reasons for combining the cited prior art with respect to claims 1, 10, and 4 also apply to claim 16.
With respect to claim 17, Martin discloses the invention substantially as claimed. As described above, Martin in view of Yu and Maliuk discloses all the elements of dependent claim 16. Martin/Yu/Maliuk additionally discloses:
wherein at least a first said authorized user receives said alert activated by another authorized user upon detection of said weapon object (see citations and arguments with respect to corresponding element of claim 7 above).
The reasons for combining the cited prior art with respect to claims 1, 10, and 4 also apply to claim 17.
With respect to claim 18, Martin discloses the invention substantially as claimed. As described above, Martin in view of Yu and Maliuk discloses all the elements of dependent claim 17. Martin/Yu/Maliuk additionally discloses:
wherein said alert is selected from the group consisting of an SMS message and an email (see citations and arguments with respect to corresponding element of claim 8 above).
The reasons for combining the cited prior art with respect to claims 1, 10 and 4 also apply to claim 18.
With respect to claim 19, Martin discloses the invention substantially as claimed. As described above, Martin in view of Yu and Maliuk discloses all the elements of dependent claim 18. Martin/Yu/Maliuk additionally discloses:
wherein said facility management module having a facility setup submodule for creating, editing, and removing of one or more said facility in the facility planning and monitoring system (see citations and arguments with respect to corresponding element of claim 9 above).
The reasons for combining the cited prior art with respect to claims 1, 10, and 4 also apply to claim 19.
Conclusion
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LINDSAY J UHL
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2481
/LINDSAY J UHL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2481