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
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) 1-3, 5, 6, 9, 11, 12, and 15-19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Asthana et al. (US 10,460,224) (hereinafter referred to as ‘Asthana’).
Asthana teaches
Regarding claim 1,
a product verification system, comprising:
a reader (scanning device 100);
a trigger mechanism (trigger 108) coupled with the reader;
a printed circuit board (PCB) control unit coupled with the trigger mechanism and the reader and being mounted inside of a control cabinet remote from the reader and the trigger mechanism (col. 9, lines 52-67); and
programming provided in the PCB control unit, said programming configured to control the trigger mechanism and the reader;
wherein the reader is operable to interrogate an article that comes into a field of view of the trigger mechanism;
wherein the programming is configured to determine if an RFID tag and/or a barcode is applied to the article based on an interrogation (col. 5, lines 45-64); and
wherein the programming is further configured to automatically calibrate the reader by setting a transmission power level of a transmitter to a predetermined maximum power level (col. 5, line 65-col. 10, line 9);
regarding claim 2, the product verification system of claim 1, further comprising:
a control module coupled with the trigger mechanism and the reader; and
a control and interface circuitry module embedded on the PCB control unit and operable with at least the control module, wherein the control and interface circuity module is configured to facilitate a movement of data on the PCB control unit among the control module, the reader, and the trigger mechanism (col. 3, lines 49-57);
regarding claim 3, the product verification system of claim 1, further comprising:
a signal protection and conditioning circuity module embedded on the PCB control unit and operable at least a control module of the PCB control unit, wherein the signal protection and conditioning circuity module is configured to directly connect to a set of input/output connections embedded on the PCB control unit.
regarding claim 5, the product verification system of claim 1, further comprising:
a power circuitry module embedded on the PCB control unit and operable to supply internal power to modules embedded on the PCB control unit (col. 7, lines 34-39);
regarding claim 6, the product verification system of claim 1, further comprising:
a sensor module embedded on the PCB control unit and operable with a control module embedded on the PCB control unit, wherein the sensor module is configured to measure one or more states of the product verification system (col. 4, lines 29-37);
regarding claim 9, the product verification system of claim 1, further comprising:
a RFID module embedded on the PCB control unit and operable with a control module of the PCB control unit and the reader (col. 4. lines 29-37);
Regarding claim 11, the product verification system of claim 1, further comprising:
an enclosure storing the PCB control unit and operable to mount to a rail of the control cabinet (see Figure 1);
regarding claim 12, the product verification system of claim 11, further comprising:
an anti-tampering mechanism operable with one or both of the enclosure and the PCB control unit (see Figure 1);
regarding claim 15, the product verification system of claim 1, further comprising: a non-volatile storage unit embedded on the PCB control unit and operable with a control module of the PCB control unit.
Regarding claim 16,
a product verification system, comprising:
a reader;
a trigger mechanism coupled with the reader;
a printed circuit board (PCB) control unit coupled with the trigger mechanism and the reader and being mounted inside of a control cabinet remote from the reader and the trigger mechanism;
programming provided in the PCB control unit, said programming configured to control the trigger mechanism and the reader; and
a display screen provided on a user interface, wherein the display screen is configured to display one of a plurality of different colors thereon based on a result of the interrogation by the reader;
wherein the reader is operable to interrogate an article that comes into a field of view of the trigger mechanism;
wherein the programming is configured to determine if an RFID tag and/or a barcode is applied to the article based on an interrogation; and
wherein the programming is further configured to automatically calibrate the reader by setting a transmission power level of a transmitter to a predetermined maximum power level;
regarding claim 17, the product verification system of claim 16, further comprising:
a control module coupled with the trigger mechanism and the reader; and
a control and interface circuitry module embedded on the PCB control unit and operable with at least the control module, wherein the control and interface circuity module is configured to facilitate movement of data on the PCB control unit among the control module, the reader, and the trigger mechanism;
regarding claim 18, the product verification system of claim 16, further comprising:
an enclosure storing the PCB control unit and operable to mount to a rail of the control cabinet;
regarding claim 19, the product verification system of claim 18, further comprising:
an anti-tampering mechanism operable with one or both of the enclosure and the PCB control unit.
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) 4 and 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Asthana in view of Hussey et al. (US 2003/0001018) (hereinafter referred to as ‘Hussey’).
The teachings of Asthana have been discussed above.
Asthana lacks the teaching of ethernet connection and lacks the teaching of cellular communication.
Hussey teaches
an ethernet connection operable with at least a control module embedded on a PCB control unit; wherein the ethernet connection is adapted to enable communication between a control module and a controller system (paragraph 0084); and
a cellular communication module embedded on the PCB control unit and operable with a control module of a PCB control unit (paragraph 0084).
One of ordinary skill in the art would have readily recognized that providing the Asthana invention with an ethernet connection and a cellular communication would have been beneficial considering both ethernet connection and cellular communication are commonly utilized within the art for purposes of speed and efficiency. Therefore it would have been obvious at the time the invention was made to modify the teachings of Asthana with the aforementioned teachings of Hussey for optimal system functionality.
Claim(s) 7 and 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Asthana in view of Eggert (US 2014/0203071).
The teachings of Asthana have been discussed above.
Asthana lacks the teaching of a temperature and humidity sensor and lacks the teaching of a three-axis accelerometer sensor.
Eggert teaches
A system comprising:
a temperature and humidity sensor embedded on the PCB control unit (see paragraph 0055); and
a three-axis accelerometer sensor embedded on the PCB control unit (see paragraph 0055).
One of ordinary skill in the art would have readily recognized that providing the Asthana invention with a temperature and humidity sensor and a three-axis accelerometer would have been beneficial for taking measures of the environment in which the reader resides in order to recalibrate the reader accordingly. Therefore it would have been obvious at the time the invention was made to modify the teachings Asthana with the aforementioned teaching of Eggert.
Claim(s) 13, 14, and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Asthana in view of Stokes et al. (US 9,317,730) (hereinafter referred to as ‘Stokes’).
The teachings Asthana have been discussed above.
Asthana lacks the teaching of a watchdog timer and the teaching of a battery backup.
Stokes teaches
A system comprising:
a watchdog timer (timer 35) operable with at least a control module of the PCB control unit; and
a battery (battery 156) backup embedded on the PCB control unit
One of ordinary skill in the art would have readily recognized that providing the Asthana invention with a timer and battery would have been beneficial for including elements with a reader which help to ensure the reader is operating at an appropriate power level at a desired duration. Therefore it would have been obvious at the time the invention was made to modify the teaching of Asthana with the aforementioned teachings of Stokes.
Conclusion
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March 04, 2026
/JAMARA A FRANKLIN/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2876