Non-Final Rejection Notice
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, 7, 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 20140009067 A by Sacs in view of US20160242256 A1 by Kim et al (Kim).
Referring to claim 1 Sacs Fig 1-8 teaches: A lighting control system (Fig 2 item 210 control unit paragraph [0084]) comprising:
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at least one input device (See Fig 5 item 725 paragraph [0110]) configured to provide information including at least one of a group consisting of user-derived information, status information, environmental information, and combinations thereof to the lighting control system responsive to a first query command in order to obtain the information, issue a second query command depending on the information obtained, or issue both the first query command and the second query command (See Fig 1 item 110 LED engine of Fig 2 item 210 is connected to various sensors and command controls paragraphs [0077] -[0079] and [0087]).
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an application controller (Fig 5 item 725 interface) configured to receive the information (See paragraph [0110]) ; and
a reverse bridge (Fig 7, 8 ), which is configured to communicate with the application controller via a wired network bus (see paragraphs [0120], [0121]operated using a synchronous network protocol (See paragraph [0056]), and
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wherein the reverse bridge is configured for bidirectional communication between (i) the application controller and (ii) the at least one input device (See paragraphs [0120]-[0122]).
But silent on which is configured to communicate with the at least one input device
However, Kim teaches asynchronous receiver/transmitter interface and communicates based on master slave mode protocols (See abstract and Fig 3 paragraphs [0063]-[0064]).
Hence, it would have been obvious to a person with ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of instant application to incorporate asynchronous network receiver and protocol teachings of Kim in to the Sacs’s Lighting applications as needed by user. (Abstract and claim 12).
Referring to claim 7, Sacs’s lighting system as modified by Kim teaches the lighting control system according to claim 1, Sacs further teaches wherein the reverse bridge (Fig 7, 8) includes a memory (Fig 5 item 755 memory) and is configured to store commissioning information of a new input device to be introduced to the lighting control system in the memory (See paragraphs [0051], [0064], [0110]) ; and the reverse bridge is configured to initiate a commissioning process with the new input device (See paragraphs [0120]-[0122]).
Referring to claim 8 Sacs’s lighting system as modified by Kim teaches the lighting control system according to claim 7, Sacs further teaches wherein the application controller (Fig 2 item 210) is configured to issue at least one command via the wired network bus using the synchronous network protocol, wherein the at least one command contains the commissioning information of the new input device; and the reverse bridge is configured to receive the at least one command and to store the commissioning information in the memory. (See paragraph [0117] and claim 32).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 2-6, 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.
Claims 9-20 are allowed.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Referring to claim 9 the closes prior art of record fails to teach or reasonably suggest that A lighting control system, comprising: the lighting control system further comprising, in addition to the at least one control gear communicating with the reverse bridge on a side of the network operated using an asynchronous network protocol, another control gear communicating from a side of the wired network bus operated using a synchronous network protocol; wherein the reverse bridge is configured to:- copy settings of the another control gear, which is arranged to communicate from the wired network bus side, to the at least one control gear, which is arranged to communicate on the asynchronously operated network side, at install time. Hence, claim 9 and depending claims 10-18 are allowable subject matter.
Referring to claim 9 the closes prior art of record fails to teach or reasonably suggest that A lighting control system, comprising: at least one control gear configured to provide power to one or more light sources and to provide status information to the lighting control system responsive to a first the query command; an application controller configured to receive the status information, Hence, claim 19 and 20 are allowed.
Conclusion
Claims 1, 7, 8 are rejected by prior art.
Claims 2-6 are objected.
Claims 9-20 are allowed over prior art.
The prior of art made of record and not relied upon is considered to pertinent to applicant’s disclosure.
Applicants are directed to consider additional pertinent prior art included on the notice of references cited PTOL 892 attached here with. The examiner has pointed out particular references contained in the prior art of record within the body of this action for the convenience of the Applicants. Although the specified citations are representative of the teachings in the art and are applied to the specific limitations within the individual claim other passages and figures may apply. Applicant, in preparing the response should consider fully the entire reference as potentially teaching all or part of the claimed invention as well as the context of the passage as taught by the prior art or disclosed by the examiner.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SRINIVAS SATHIRAJU whose telephone number is (571)272-4250. The examiner can normally be reached 8:30AM-3:30PM, 5PM -8:30PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, ALEXANDER H TANINGCO can be reached at 5712728048. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/SRINIVAS SATHIRAJU/ 07/24/2026
SRINIVAS . SATHIRAJU
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2845
Prosecution Insights