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 .
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the pulse-width modulation (PWM) pin must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1, 4-6 and 9-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Notoshi et al. (US 2018/0217447).
In regards to claim 1, Notoshi discloses of a multi-channel lighting control system, comprising: a control module (for example 30) configured to generate a multi-level control signal comprising a plurality of control signal data arranged in a preset sequence (for example see Paragraphs 0053-0054); and a plurality of dimming modules (for example 40, see Figs 2-3) corresponding to the control signal data respectively and arranged in the preset sequence, wherein each of the dimming modules (40), upon receiving the multi-level control signal, is configured to perform a signal extraction to extract a first of the control signal data from the multi-level control signal, convert the control signal data extracted by the dimming module (40) into a dimming signal, and output the dimming signal to a lighting device (for example see 20 in Fig 3) corresponding thereto.
In regards to claim 4, Notoshi discloses of the multi-channel lighting control system as claimed in claim 1, wherein each dimming module (40) comprises a data latch (for example see Fig 3, each dimming module 40 includes a registers 46a-46c responsive to a latch signal), and the dimming module (40) is configured to store the control signal data extracted thereby in the data latch (see Figs 2-3 and Paragraphs 0023-0031).
In regards to claim 5, Notoshi discloses of the multi-channel lighting control system as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of the dimming modules (40) comprises a pulse-width modulation pin, and the dimming module (40) is configured to output the dimming signal to the lighting device (20) corresponding thereto via the pulse-width modulation pin (for example see at least Figs 2-3 and Paragraphs 0024, 0030, 0042, 0076).
In regards to claim 6, Notoshi discloses of a multi-channel lighting control method, comprising: generating a multi-level control signal comprising a plurality of control signal data arranged in a preset sequence (for example see Paragraphs 0053-0054) via a control module (for example 30); receiving the multi-level control signal by a plurality of dimming modules (for example 40, see Figs 2-3), wherein the dimming modules (40) are corresponding to the control signal data respectively and arranged in the preset sequence; performing a signal extraction by each of the dimming modules (40) upon receiving the multi-level control signal to extract a first of the plurality of control signal data from the multi-level control signal; and converting the control signal data extracted by each of the dimming modules (40) into a dimming signal, and outputting the dimming signal to the lighting devices (for example 20 in Fig 3) corresponding thereto by each of the dimming modules (40).
In regards to claim 9, Notoshi discloses of the multi-channel lighting control method as claimed in claim 6, wherein each of the dimming modules (40) comprises a pulse-width modulation pin, and the dimming module (40) is configured to output the dimming signal to the lighting device corresponding thereto via the pulse-width modulation pin (for example see at least Figs 2-3 and Paragraphs 0024, 0030, 0042, 0076).
In regards to claim 10, Notoshi discloses of the multi-channel lighting control method according to claim 6, wherein a step of performing the signal extraction by each of the dimming modules (40) upon receiving the multi-level control signal to extract the first of the plurality of control signal data from the multi-level control signal further comprises: storing the control signal data extracted by each of the dimming modules by a data latch (for example see Fig 3, each dimming module 40 includes a registers 46a-46c responsive to a latch signal) of each of the dimming modules (40, see Figs 2-3 and Paragraphs 0023-0031).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-3 and 7-8 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
In regards to claim 2, the prior art does not disclose of nor render obvious. The multi-channel lighting control system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the control module is configured to generate a reset signal after the multi-level control signal is generated and after a preset time period, wherein each of the dimming modules, upon receiving the reset signal, is configured to convert the control signal data extracted by the dimming module into the dimming signal and output the dimming signal to the lighting device corresponding thereto, nor would it have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to do so. Claim 3 is also objected to as being dependent on claim 2.
In regards to claim 7, the prior art does not disclose of nor render obvious the multi-channel lighting control method as claimed in claim 6, wherein a step of converting the control signal data extracted by each of the dimming modules into the dimming signal, and outputting the dimming signal to the lighting devices corresponding thereto by each of the dimming modules further comprises: generating a reset signal by the control module after the generation of the multi-level control signal is generated and after a preset time period; and receiving the reset signal by each of the dimming modules, nor would it have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to do so. Claim 8 is also objected to as being dependent on claim 7.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Jason M Crawford whose telephone number is (571)272-6004. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 6:00am-3:00pm.
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, Alexander Taningco can be reached at 571-272-8048. 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.
/JASON M CRAWFORD/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2844
Prosecution Insights