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 .
1. Claims 1-20 have been presented for examination.
Priority
2. The instant application claim benefit of US Provisional Application No. 63/655,042, filed 6/2/2024.
Information Disclosure Statement
3. Acknowledgement is made to the information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 3/12/2026. The information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
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.
4. Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Seekola (US 2014/0110472 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Seekola discloses a meter (12 - meter) comprising:
a transceiver configured to receive information from one or more devices [0048, 0061, & 0062];
a controller configured to generate a plurality of symbols based on the received information [0051-0055]; and
a display (14 – variable display) configured to render the plurality of symbols [0048 & 0051-0055].
Regarding claim 2, Seekola discloses the meter of claim 1, wherein: the meter is an electricity meter; the one or more devices are a plurality of IOT devices; and the received information corresponds to power consumed by the IOT devices for different periods of time [0048, 0061 & 0062].
Regarding claim 3, Seekola discloses the meter of claim 1, wherein: each symbol corresponds to a particular set of information for a particular device for a particular period of time; and different symbols correspond to one or more of different sets of information, different devices, and different periods of time [0048, 0061 & 0062].
Regarding claim 4, Seekola discloses the meter of claim 1, wherein the symbols are QR codes [0031 & 0051].
Regarding claim 5, Seekola discloses the meter of claim 4, wherein a second displayed symbol is an inter-symbol QR code representing differences between a first QR code and a corresponding second QR code [0031 & 0051-0055].
Regarding claim 6, Seekola discloses the meter of claim 1, wherein at least some of the symbols are displayed sequentially [0048 & 0051].
Regarding claim 7, Seekola discloses the meter of claim 1, wherein at least some of the symbols are displayed in parallel side by side [0048 & 0051].
Regarding claim 8, Seekola discloses the meter of claim 1, wherein: the meter is one instance in a network of meters, each of which receives information from a different set of one or more devices; and the network processes data from the different meters to make network-level decisions [0049, 0061, & 0102-0107].
Regarding claim 9, Seekola discloses the meter of claim 1, wherein the plurality of symbols are two-dimensional (2D) symbols that are part of a multi-dimensional (ND) symbol, wherein two of the dimensions of the ND symbol correspond to width and height of each 2D symbol, another dimension of the ND symbol corresponds to different devices, and another dimension of the ND symbol corresponds to different time periods [0031 & 0051-0055].
Regarding claim 10, Seekola discloses a method for the meter of claim 1, the method comprising: the transceiver receiving information from the one or more devices; the controller generating the plurality of symbols based on the received information; and the display rendering the plurality of symbols [0048, 0061 & 0062].
Regarding claim 11, Seekola discloses the method of claim 10, wherein: the meter is an electricity meter; the one or more devices are a plurality of IOT devices; and the received information corresponds to power consumed by the IOT devices for different periods of time [0048, 0061 & 0062].
Regarding claim 12, Seekola discloses the method of claim 10, wherein: each symbol corresponds to a particular set of information for a particular device for a particular period of time; and different symbols correspond to one or more of different sets of information, different devices, and different periods of time [0048, 0061 & 0062].
Regarding claim 13, Seekola discloses the method of claim 10, wherein the symbols are QR codes [0031 & 0051].
Regarding claim 14, Seekola discloses the method of claim 13, wherein a second displayed symbol is an inter-symbol QR code representing differences between a first QR code and a corresponding second QR code [0031 & 0051-0055].
Regarding claim 15, Seekola discloses the method of claim 10, wherein at least some of the symbols are displayed sequentially [0048 & 0051].
Regarding claim 16, Seekola discloses the method of claim 10, wherein at least some of the symbols are displayed in parallel side by side [0048 & 0051].
Regarding claim 17, Seekola discloses a reader (10 – reader system) comprising:
a camera configured to capture images of symbols displayed by a meter [0064 & 0067]; and
a transceiver configured to transmit the captured images to a server [0062 & 0076].
Regarding claim 18, Seekola discloses the meter of claim 17, further comprising: a controller configured to generate an inter-symbol QR code representing differences between a first QR code and a corresponding second QR code [0031 & 0051-0055].
Regarding claim 19, Seekola discloses a method for the reader of claim 17, wherein: the camera captures the images of the symbols displayed by the meter; and the transceiver transmits the captured images to the server [0062, 0064, 0066, 0074, & 0076].
Regarding claim 20, Seekola discloses a method for the meter of claim 17, further comprising: the controller generating the inter-symbol QR code representing the differences between the first QR code and the corresponding second QR code [0031 & 0051].
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PAULTEP SAVUSDIPHOL whose telephone number is (571)270-1301. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F,7-3 EST. If the examiner cannot be reached by telephone, he can be reached through the following email address: paultep.savusdiphol@uspto.gov
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone and email are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Michael G. Lee can be reached on (571) 272-2398. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from Patent Center. Status information for published applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Patent Center for authorized users only. Should you have questions about access to Patent Center, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free).
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) Form at https://www.uspto.gov/patents/uspto-automated- interview-request-air-form.
/PAULTEP SAVUSDIPHOL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2876
Prosecution Insights