DETAILED ACTION
This Office Action is in response to the Applicant’s Communication filed on 06/16/2025. In virtue of the communication:
Claims 1-20 are pending in the instant application.
The references cited in the Information Disclosure Statement(s) (IDS(s)) filed on 08/14/2025 have been considered by the examiner.
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 § 112
Claim 19 recites the limitations “means for receiving”, “means for determining”, and “means for causing”, which invoke 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. However, the written description fails to disclose the corresponding structure, material, or acts for performing the entire claimed function and to clearly link the structure, material, or acts to the function. Therefore, the claim is indefinite and is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, second paragraph.
Applicant may:
(a) Amend the claim so that the claim limitation will no longer be interpreted as a limitation under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph;
(b) Amend the written description of the specification such that it expressly recites what structure, material, or acts perform the entire claimed function, without introducing any new matter (35 U.S.C. 132(a)); or
(c) Amend the written description of the specification such that it clearly links the structure, material, or acts disclosed therein to the function recited in the claim, without introducing any new matter (35 U.S.C. 132(a)).
If applicant is of the opinion that the written description of the specification already implicitly or inherently discloses the corresponding structure, material, or acts and clearly links them to the function so that one of ordinary skill in the art would recognize what structure, material, or acts perform the claimed function, applicant should clarify the record by either:
(a) Amending the written description of the specification such that it expressly recites the corresponding structure, material, or acts for performing the claimed function and clearly links or associates the structure, material, or acts to the claimed function, without introducing any new matter (35 U.S.C. 132(a)); or
(b) Stating on the record what the corresponding structure, material, or acts, which are implicitly or inherently set forth in the written description of the specification, perform the claimed function. For more information, see 37 CFR 1.75(d) and MPEP §§ 608.01(o) and 2181.
Claim 20 is rejected by virtue of its dependency.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-18 are allowed.
The primary reasons for the allowance of claims 1-18 are in the inclusion of the
limitation(s):
“… receiving, by a computing system, (i) information from one or more devices within an area indicative of context about a lighting need for a person and (ii) data from one or more sensors monitoring the area; determining, by the computing system and based at least in part on the information, that a person is present within a region of the area; determining, by the computing system and based at least in part on the data, that illumination of the region being inadequate; and in response to the person being present within the region and the illumination of the region being inadequate, causing at least one light source to illuminate at least a portion of the region” and combination thereof, in the apparatus and method claim(s), i.e., claims 1 and 10 (claims 2-9 and 11-18 are allowed as being dependent on claims 1 and 10), which are not found in the prior art references.
The prior art made of record and relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant’s disclosure. The best consider with this application can be filed in Bishop (U.S. Pub. 2015/0208490 A1). Prior art of Bishop discloses a lighting control apparatus for controlling one or more light sources, the lighting control apparatus including: at least one sensor for detecting or sensing a parameter of interest; a transmitter for transmitting one or more wireless signals to one or more other lighting control apparatuses; a receiver for receiving one or more wireless signals from one or more other lighting control apparatuses; and a controller having at least one processor and a memory in communication with the processor to store configuration data representing one or more processes to be executed by the processor. However, it does not teach the system and method for receiving, by a computing system, (i) information from one or more devices within an area indicative of context about a lighting need for a person and (ii) data from one or more sensors monitoring the area; determining, by the computing system and based at least in part on the information, that a person is present within a region of the area; determining, by the computing system and based at least in part on the data, that illumination of the region being inadequate; and in response to the person being present within the region and the illumination of the region being inadequate, causing at least one light source to illuminate at least a portion of the region (as recited in claims 1 and 10).
Inquiry
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JIMMY T VU whose telephone number is (571)272-1832. The examiner can normally be reached on 9:00 AM - 6:00 PM.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Alexander H. Taningco can be reached on 571-272-8048. The fax phone numbers for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned are 571-273-8300.
Any inquiry of a general nature or relating to the status of this application or proceeding should be directed to the receptionist whose telephone number is 571-272-2800.
/JIMMY T VU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2845
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