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 .
DETAILED ACTION
The application of Stephen W. Miller for Methods and Apparatus For Pet Doors filed 7/14/25 has been examined. Claims 1-20 are pending.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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) 1,9, and 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Ellis US Patent 8854215.
Regarding claim 1, Ellis teaches a pet access control system operating in conjunction with a pet, comprising:
a frame having a hole defined therethrough (fig 1, fig. 2, col. 2 line 63-col. 3 line 9, col. 4 lines 11);
a door disposed over the hole and mounted on the frame (col. 2 line 63-col. 3 line 9); and
a control system operating the door, wherein control system grants access to
the pet through the door (col. 4 lines 11-25) according to:
whether the pet is authorized for access (col. 5 lines 9-22); and
a position of the pet relative to the door (col. 5 lines 11-14).
Regarding claim 9, Ellis teaches a pet access control system configured to respond to a signal from an authorized tag associated with a pet, comprising:
a frame having a hole defined therethrough (fig 1, fig. 2, col. 2 line 63-col. 3 line 9, col. 4 lines 11);
a door disposed over the hole and mounted on the frame (col. 2 line 63-col. 3 line 9);
a motor, wherein the motor drives movement of the door (col. 3 lines 10-23); and
a control system responsive to signals from the authorized tag (col. 4 lines 11-25), wherein the
motor is responsive to signals from the control system (col. 5 lines 9-14), and wherein the
control system controls the motor according to:
whether the pet is authorized for access and a position of the pet relative to the door (col. 5 lines 11-14).
Regarding claim 17, Ellis teaches a method of operating a pet access control system to grant access to a pet through a first door, comprising:
receiving signals associated with the pet(col. 3 line 64-col. 4 line 10);
determining whether the signals identify the pet as authorized for access (col. 5 lines 9-22);
determining a position of the pet according to the signals (col. 5 lines 9-14); and
operating the first door according to:
whether the pet is authorized for access and the position of the pet (col. 5 lines 9-22).
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.
Claim(s) 2-5,10-13,18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ellis US Patent 8854215 in view of Kincaid et al. US Patent Application Publication 20210158637.
Regarding claim 2-4,10-12,18 Ellis is silent on teaching the control system communicates with a tag associated with the pet via UWB signals. Kincaide in an analogous art teaches the control system communicates with a tag associated with the pet via UWB signals (paragraph 04,054). Kincaid teaches the control system determines the position of the pet according to the UWB signals (paragraph 059). Kincaid teaches the control system determines whether the pet is authorized for access according to the UWB signals (paragraph 058-059).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the system of Ellis as disclosed by Kincaid because such modification represents an improvement over the system of Ellis by providing a more accurate location of the pet and lowers power consumption.
Regarding claims 5 and 13, Ellis is silent on teaching the tag comprises a GPS tracker. Kincaid in an analogous art, teaches the tag comprises a GPS tracker (paragraph 059).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skills in the art to modify the system of Ellis as disclosed by Kincaid because such modification represents the substitution of one means for determining the pet location for another and producing the predictable result of reliably determining the pet location.
Claim(s) 6,14, and 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ellis US Patent 8854215 in view of Cheng et al. US Patent Application Publication 20190392691.
Regarding claim 6,14,19, Ellis is silent on teaching the control system determines whether the pet is authorized for access according to facial recognition analysis of the pet. Cheng in an analogous art teaches the control system determines whether the pet is authorized for access according to facial recognition analysis of the pet (paragraph 013).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to modify the system of Ellis as disclosed by Cheng because such modification represents the substitution of one pet identification means for another and producing the predictable result of reliably identifying the pet.
Claim(s) 7-8,15-16, and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ellis US Patent 8854215 in view of Montague US Patent 7612667.
Regarding claims 7-8,15-16, and 20, Ellis is silent on teaching a second door substantially parallel to the door mounted on the frame, wherein the control system operates the second door. Montague in an analogous art teaches a second door substantially parallel to the door mounted on the frame, wherein the control system operates the second door (fig. 9, col. 6 lines 46-51). Montague teaches the control system
opens and closes the second door and the door mounted on the frame in tandem (col. 6 lines 44-61);
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to modify the system of Ellis as disclosed by Montague because such modification represents an improvement over the system of Ellis by providing additional door for the passage of the pet.
Conclusion
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/VERNAL U BROWN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2686
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