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 .
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 18 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 pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
With respect to claim 18 the recitation “the respective receptacle” lacks antecedent basis.
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 1,2,5-9, 15,16,19,20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Dowling et al. 2003/0057887.
With respect to claim 1, figures 4, 14-16 of Dowling et al. disclose method for operating multiple mobile lighting devices in an amusement park system [para. 0112], comprising:
determining, via a control system [fig. 4], a respective location of each mobile lighting device of a plurality of mobile lighting devices in the amusement park system [para 0009];
mapping [para. 0100], via the control system, the respective location of each mobile lighting device of the plurality of lighting devices to a respective portion of imagery; and
operating, via the control system, the plurality of mobile lighting devices to emit light based on the respective locations to cumulatively present the imagery [para 0117].
Dowling et al. does not disclose an electronic post to emit light.
However, It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art before the effective filing date, to put the lighting devices on a post, since it has been held that a recitation with respect to the manner in which a claimed apparatus is intended to be employed does not differentiate the claimed apparatus from a prior art apparatus satisfying the claimed structural limitations. Ex parte Masham, 2 USPQ2d 1647 (1987).
With respect to claim 2, the above modification discloses the method of claim 1, comprising varying respective light emission from each electronic post of the plurality of electronic posts to present the imagery such that the imagery includes an animation. [para. 0012, 0070]
With respect to claim 5, the above modification discloses the method of claim 1, wherein mapping the respective location of each electronic post to the respective portion of imagery comprises mapping the respective location of each electronic post to a respective pixel of the imagery. [para. 0070]
With respect to claim 6, the above modification discloses the method of claim 1, wherein each respective portion of the imagery is associated with a particular color. [para 0070]
With respect to claim 7, the above modification discloses the method of claim 6, wherein operating the plurality of electronic posts comprises operating each electronic post to emit the particular color associated with the respective portion of the imagery to which the location of the respective electronic post is mapped. [para. 0070]
With respect to claim 8, the above modification discloses the method of claim 1, wherein each respective portion of the imagery is associated with a respective image such that the imagery is composed of a plurality of images. [images and background are different images]
With respect to claim 9, the above modification discloses the method of claim 8, wherein operating the plurality of electronic posts based on the respective locations comprises operating each electronic post to emit the respective image and such that the plurality of electronic posts cumulatively present the imagery. [each light is part of a larger image]
With respect to claim 15, the above modification discloses a non-transitory computer-readable medium, the computer-readable medium comprising processor-executable code that when executed by processing circuitry [para. 0066], causes the processing circuitry to:
determine a respective location of each electronic post of a plurality of electronic posts in the amusement park system;
map the respective location of each electronic post of the plurality of electronic posts to a respective portion of imagery; and
operate the plurality of electronic posts based on the respective locations of the plurality of electronic posts to cumulatively present the imagery. [see claim 1]
With respect to claim 16, the above modification discloses the non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the processor- executable code, when executed by the processing circuitry, further causes the processing circuitry to present the imagery as an animation via changing operation of the plurality of the electronic posts. [See claim 2]
With respect to claim 19, the above modification discloses the non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein mapping the respective location of each electronic post to the respective portion of imagery comprises mapping the respective location of each electronic post to a respective pixel of the imagery. [para. 0070]
With respect to claim 20, the above modification discloses the non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 19, wherein each respective pixel is associated with a particular color. [para. 0070]
Double Patenting
Claims 1,4,8,9, 15, 18 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-20 of U.S. Patent No.12207373. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because the claim language covers the same subject matter with slightly different language.
Claim 1 is disclosed by claims 1-3 of 12,207,373.
Claim 8 and 9 are disclosed by claims 1-3 of 12,207,373.
Claim 15 is disclosed by claims 1-3 of 12,207,373.
Claim 4 and 18 is disclosed by claims 1-3 and 6 of 12,207,373.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 10-14 are allowed.
Claims 10-14 are allowable over the prior art of record because the art of record does not disclose nor render obvious a determining, via a control system, each receptacle of a plurality of receptacles configured to receive a respective electronic post at a particular interval of time;
enabling, via the control system, power flow to each receptacle determined to receive the respective electronic post at the particular interval of time; and
blocking, via the control system, power flow to a remainder of receptacles of the plurality of receptacles that are not configured to receive the respective electronic post at the particular interval of time, in combination with the rest of the claimed limitations.
Claims 3, 4, 17 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.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to RYAN C JAGER whose telephone number is (571)272-7016. The examiner can normally be reached on 8:30 - 5:30 PM.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Taelor Kim can be reached on 571-270-7166. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/RYAN JAGER/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2836
5/13/26
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