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 § 102
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 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.
Claim(s) 1-2 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Hiei et al. (JP 2022-74026 with reference to equivalent US 2023/0243863, hereafter Hiei)
With respect to claim 1, Hiei teaches an environment condition measurement device comprising: a plurality of sound wave units (plurality of units 20) installed on a periphery of a measurement target space (indoor space 10), the sound wave units being located on a perimeter of each of a plurality of boundary planes virtually defining the measurement target space, the plurality of sound wave units including a transmission unit (transmitter 30) configured to transmit a sound wave directionally and a reception unit (receiver 40) configured to receive a sound wave directionally, the environment condition measurement device being configured to measure an environment condition in the measurement target space based on propagation characteristics of the soundwave that propagates between the transmission unit and the reception unit at least one of the sound wave units being installed in an orientation in which a directivity axis exhibiting a maximum intensity of a directivity of transmission or reception is inclined at a predetermined angle with respect to at least one of the boundary planes at which the at least one of the sound wave units is located. (par. 15-20, Fig. 1) Note that everything must be installed at a predetermined angle and therefore the maximum intensity will inherently exist at some angle which fits the claim language.
With respect to claim 2, Hiei teaches the sound wave units are arranged at corner portions of the measurement target space, and the sound wave units located at the corner portions of the measurement target space are each installed in an orientation in which the directivity axis is inclined at a predetermined angle with respect to each of the plurality of boundary planes forming the corner portion. (par. 15-20, Fig. 1)
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 5-7 and 11-13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hiei.
With respect to claims 5 and 11, although Hiei does not explicitly discuss that angles of the directivity axes of the plurality of sound wave units located on the perimeter of a same boundary plane with respect to the same boundary plane are set to be a same angle, the units of Hiei are arranged in a symmetrical manner and therefore it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to arrange the units with a similar angle in order to produce balanced coverage of the area.
With respect to claims 6 and 12, although Hiei does not explicitly discuss wherein the sound wave units are arranged at corner portions of the measurement target space, and a pair of the sound wave units located at adjacent ones of the corner portions of the measurement target space on the perimeter of a same boundary plane are installed in orientations in line symmetry with respect to a virtual reference line passing through an intermediate position between the pair of the sound wave units as viewed in a direction orthogonal to the same boundary planes, the units of Hiei are arranged in a symmetrical manner and therefore it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to arrange the units as claimed in order to produce balanced coverage of the area.
With respect to claims 7 and 13, although Hiei does not explicitly discuss wherein the plurality of boundary planes include a first boundary plane and a second boundary plane, the first and second boundary planes facing each other, each of a pair of the sound wave units located at positions on the first boundary plane and the second boundary plane corresponding to each other includes a transmission element configured to implement a function of the transmission unit and a reception element configured to implement a function of the reception unit as separate elements, and the pair of the sound wave units are installed in orientations so that a positional relationship of the transmission element and the reception element relative to a virtual reference plane defined at an intermediate position between the first boundary plane and the second boundary plane is the same, the units of Hiei are arranged in a symmetrical manner and therefore it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to arrange the units as claimed in order to produce balanced coverage of the area.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-4 and 9-10 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 respect to claims 3 and 9, the prior art fails to teach or render obvious an environment condition measurement device as claimed particularly wherein the predetermined angle is set based on an attenuation of the sound wave for each propagation path associated with the sound wave unit.
Claim 8 is allowed. The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance:
With respect to claim 8, the prior art fails to teach or render obvious a method for setting an environment condition measurement device as claimed, particularly including determining, based on the attenuation of the sound wave for each of the propagation paths, an angle of a directivity axis exhibiting a maximum intensity of a directivity of transmission or reception of the at least one of the sound wave units in an installation orientation, and inclining with respect to at least one of the boundary planes at which the at least one of the sound wave units are located.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. WO 2013/179202; US 2020/0191627; US 2021/0231507; and US 2023/0048434 each teaching invention having similarities to the claimed subject matter.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Jill E Culler whose telephone number is (571)272-2159. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:30-5:00.
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, Stephen Meier can be reached at 571-272-2149. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JILL E CULLER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2853
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