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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Species XXII (Claims 21-29) in the reply filed on January 30, 2026 is acknowledged.
Claims 30-40 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected species, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on January 30, 2026.
Specification
The lengthy specification has not been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors. Applicant’s cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant may become aware in the specification.
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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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, 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 21-26 and 28 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee (U.S. Patent 9,133,992 B2) in view of Roberge et al. (U.S. Patent 7,178,941 B2), and further in view of Li (U.S. Patent 11,027,036 B2).
With regards to Claim 21, Lee discloses a lighting fixture, including:
An outer casing (1);
A hollow body (6) positioned within the outer casing;
A motion generator (30) positioned within the hollow body;
Wherein the motion generator includes:
A container (20),
A magnetic coil (36) configured to generate a magnetic field, and
An object (18) within the container and configured move within the container responsive to the magnetic field; and
A controller (100, 110) positioned within the hollow body and coupled to the motion generator, wherein the controller is configured to receive an electrical signal and control an operation of the lighting fixture in response to the electrical signal [Column 5, Line 55 – Column 7, Line 40].
Lee does not specifically teach the lighting fixture being a pendant lighting fixture and the plurality of sensors coupled to the controller and positioned on a side surface of the outer casing, wherein the plurality of sensors includes at least one sensor configured to send the electrical signal to the controller.
Li discloses, “In some embodiments, as shown, for example, in FIG. 9A and FIG. 9B, the electronic scented candle 300 further includes a control device 91 and a sensing element (92, 93). The control device 91 is used to control an operation of the electronic scented candle 300. The sensing element (91, 92) is used to receive an external input and convert the received external input into an electric signal, which is provided to the control device 91. The sensing element (91, 92) can for example receive an external signal or stimulus, such as a sound, air flow and pressure, a touch, a movement, etc., and convert the external signal into an electric signal that causes the control device 91 to control an operation of the electronic scented candle 300” [Column 9, Lines 6-18].
Roberge discloses, “The housing 800 may be configured as a spot light, a down light, an up light, a cove light, an alcove light, a sconce, a border light, a wall-washing fixture, an alcove light, an area light, a desk lamp, a chandelier, a ceiling fan light, a marker light, a theatrical light, a moving-head light, a pathway light, a cove light, a recessed light, a track light, a wall fixture, a ceiling fixture, a floor fixture, a circular fixture, a spherical fixture, a square fixture, a rectangular fixture, an accent light, a pendant, a parabolic fixture, a strip light, a soffit light, a valence light, a floodlight, an indirect lighting fixture, a direct lighting fixture, a flood light, a cable light, a swag light, a picture light, a portable luminaire, an island light, a torchiere, a boundary light, a flush or any other kind architectural or theatrical lighting fixture or luminaire” [Column 18, Lines 1-14].
It would have been obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the lighting fixture of Lee to be a commonly known pendant lighting fixture of Roberge, as considered functionally equivalent based on lighting application, as well as to have modified the lighting fixture of Lee to have the plurality of sensors coupled to the controller and positioned on a side surface of the outer casing, wherein the plurality of sensors includes at least one sensor configured to send the electrical signal to the controller, as taught in principle by Li. Such an obvious configuration is also well-known with respect to touch sensors on lamps to facilitate easy operation by a user.
With regards to Claim 22, Lee in view of Roberge and further in view of Li discloses the claimed invention as modified and cited above. Li teaches the at least one sensor being a touch sensor, wherein the touch sensor is configured to send the electrical signal to the controller [note Column 9, Lines 6-18]. Though Li does not specifically teach the touch sensor including an activating region, wherein the sending of the electrical signal to the controller occurs when the activation region is touched, it would have been obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art before the effective filing date that the touch sensor of Lee in view of Li and further in view of Roberge would obviously have an activating region such that the touch sensor is configured to send the electrical signal to the controller when the activation region is touched.
With regards to Claim 23, Lee in view of Roberge and further in view of Li discloses the claimed invention as modified and cited above. In addition, Lee teaches changing an illumination, changing an operational mode, or setting a timer for the lighting fixture to operate [Column 6, Lines 1-27].
With regards to Claim 24, Lee in view of Roberge and further in view of Li discloses the claimed invention as modified and cited above.
Lee does not specifically teach a remote control receiving unit configured to receive a remote control signal and to communicate with the controller, wherein the remote control receiving unit is configured to provide the remote control signal to the controller to cause the controller to output a control command, wherein the operation of the lighting fixture is based on the control command.
Roberge teaches, “In embodiments a user interface 4908 instructs a lighting system 100 to produce a desired mixed light output. The user interface can be a remote control, a network interface, a dipswitch, a computer, such as a laptop computer, a personal computer, a network computer, or a personal digital assistant, an interface for programming an on-board memory of the illumination system, a wireless interface, a digital facility, a remote control, a receiver, a transceiver, a network interface, a personal computer, a handheld computer, a push button, a dial, a toggle/membrane switch, an actuator that actuates when one part of a housing is rotated relative to another, a motion sensor, an insulating strip that is removed to allow power to a unit, an electrical charge to turn a unit on, or a magnetic interface such as a small reed-relay or Hall-effect sensor that can be incorporated so when a magnetic material is brought within the proximity of the device it completes a power circuit” [Column 44, Lines 18-34].
It would have been obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the pendant lighting fixture of Lee in view of Roberge and Li to have further incorporated a remote control receiving unit configured to receive a remote control signal and to communicate with the controller, wherein the remote control receiving unit is configured to provide the remote control signal to the controller to cause the controller to output a control command, wherein the operation of the lighting fixture is based on the control command, as taught in principle by Roberge. Such an obvious modification would allow remote access and greater control over the lighting fixture for a user.
With regards to Claim 25, Lee in view of Roberge and further in view Li discloses the claimed invention as modified and cited above. Though Lee in view of Roberge and further in view of Li does not specifically teach the hollow body including an upper part being configured to be coupled to a hanging mechanism, it would have been obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified an upper part of the hollow body of Lee to have incorporated a hanging mechanism as is commonly known with pendant light fixtures.
With regards to Claim 26, Lee discloses a screen assembly (38) coupled to a lower part of the hollow body (6) and positioned below the motion generator (30 – 20), wherein the screen assembly includes a screen (38), wherein the screen is configured to exhibit randomized motion responsive to the magnetic field [Column 5, Lines 48-50].
With regards to Claim 28, Lee discloses a lower part of the hollow body (6) being coupled to a cover [e.g., (29)].
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 27 and 29 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: With regard to Dependent Claims 27 and 29, the Applicant has sufficiently claimed and defined the pendant lighting fixture, whereby the prior art fails to teach or suggest the combination of structural and functional limitations claimed in the preceding base claims and therein, specifically to:
Dependent Claim 27 (depends on Claim 21): the container including a non-planar container surface, and wherein the object includes a rounded outer surface and moves by rolling around along the non-planar container surface;
Dependent Claim 29 (depends on Claims 21 and 28): an illumination assembly within a chamber formed by the cover, wherein the illumination assembly is coupled to the lower part of the hollow body and positioned below the motion generator, wherein the illumination assembly includes: a lighting source configured to emit a light beam, and a magnetic body that is movable in response to a movement of the object of the motion generator by the magnetic field, wherein a movement of the magnetic body is configured to affect an illumination of the light beam.
The prior art to Lee in view of Roberges and Li does not specifically teach the unique aspect of the object rolling around along the non-planar container surface or the details to the illumination assembly and its disposition relative to the hollow body/motion generator.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure, but is not considered exhaustive: U.S. Patent 7,261,455 B2 to Schnuckle that teaches a flickering flame effect via magnetism [note Figures 1-22].
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JASON M HAN whose telephone number is (571)272-2207. The examiner can normally be reached 9AM-5PM EST M-F.
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Wednesday, March 4, 2026
/Jason M Han/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2875