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 .
Claims 1-20 are presented for examination.
Priority
The Applicants’ claim for priority based upon U.S. Provisional Application 63/049942 filed on July 9, 2020 is duly noted by the examiner.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on September 19, 2025 have been considered by the examiner.
Double Patenting
The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP § 2146 et seq. for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
The filing of a terminal disclaimer by itself is not a complete reply to a nonstatutory double patenting (NSDP) rejection. A complete reply requires that the terminal disclaimer be accompanied by a reply requesting reconsideration of the prior Office action. Even where the NSDP rejection is provisional the reply must be complete. See MPEP § 804, subsection I.B.1. For a reply to a non-final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.111(a). For a reply to final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.113(c). A request for reconsideration while not provided for in 37 CFR 1.113(c) may be filed after final for consideration. See MPEP §§ 706.07(e) and 714.13.
The USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The actual filing date of the application in which the form is filed determines what form (e.g., PTO/SB/25, PTO/SB/26, PTO/AIA /25, or PTO/AIA /26) should be used. A web-based eTerminal Disclaimer may be filled out completely online using web-screens. An eTerminal Disclaimer that meets all requirements is auto-processed and approved immediately upon submission. For more information about eTerminal Disclaimers, refer to www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/applying-online/eterminal-disclaimer.
Claims 1-20 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims of U.S. Patent No. 12,444,499. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because both disclose the element of external data relating to power quality for a geographical region of the residential property. The claims are presented below for the Applicants’ convenience.
Application 19/308,474
U.S. Patent No. 12,444,499
A computer system for evaluating aspects of health of a residential property based on external data from one or more external sources, the computer system comprising: one or more of electrical devices and/or electrical circuits operating within the residential property; and
a computing device comprising at least one processor configured to communicate with the one or more external data sources outside the residential property via an external network, the at least one processor programmed to:
receive a first element of external data from the one or more external data sources, the first element of external data relating to power quality for a geographical region of the residential property;
determine a home health score for the residential property based at least in part the first element of external data from the one or more external data sources, the home health score representing a measure of health of the one or more of electrical devices and/or electrical circuits operating within the residential property of the residential property; and
cause to be displayed, via a graphical user interface, the home health score for the residential property.
A computer system for evaluating aspects of health of a residential property, the computer system comprising:
one or more electricity monitoring devices installed within the residential property, the one or more electricity monitoring devices configured to collect power quality data for one or more of electrical devices and/or electrical circuits operating within the residential property; and
a computing device comprising at least one processor configured to communicate with one or more external data sources outside the residential property via an external network, the at least one processor programmed to:
receive a first element of power quality data captured by the one or more electricity monitoring devices;
receive a first element of external data from the one or more external data sources, the first element of external data relating to power quality for a geographical region of the residential property;
determine a home health score for the residential property based at least in part on one or more of the first element of power quality data provided by the one or more electrical monitoring devices and the first element of external data from the one or more external data sources, the home health score representing a measure of health of the residential property; and
cause to be displayed, via a graphical user interface, the home health score for the residential property.
2. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the one or more external data sources includes one or more of the following: a weather source; a fire, national disaster, or emergency source; a power utility source; an internet accessibility source; an insurance provider source; and a geographic image source.
2. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the one or more external data sources includes one or more of the following: a weather source; a fire, national disaster, or emergency source; a power utility source; an internet accessibility source; an insurance provider source; and a geographic image source.
3. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the external data includes one or more of the following: weather data, power outage data, geographic data, emergency data, fire data, insurance or claim data, demographic data of occupants, and residential data.
3. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the external data includes one or more of the following: weather data, power outage data, geographic data, emergency data, fire data, insurance or claim data, demographic data of occupants, and residential data.
4. The computer system of claim 1 comprising one or more electricity monitoring devices installed within the residential property, the one or more electricity monitoring devices configured to collect power quality data for the one or more of electrical devices and/or electrical circuits operating within the residential property, and wherein the at least one processor is further programmed to:
build a training dataset using historical power quality data captured by one or more electricity monitoring devices and historical external data from the one or more external data sources; and
train a model using the training dataset, wherein the model generates the home health score when applying the received first element of external data and the received first element of external data.
4. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is further programmed to: build a training dataset using historical power quality data captured by one or more electricity monitoring devices and historical external data from the one or more external data sources; and train a model using the training dataset, wherein the model generates the home health score when applying the received first element of external data and the received first element of external data.
5. The computer system of claim 4, wherein the at least one processor is further programmed to: receive a first element of power quality data captured by the one or more electricity monitoring devices; and correlate the received first element of external data and the received first element of external data to determine the home health score for the residential property.
5. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is further programmed to: correlate the received first element of external data and the received first element of external data to determine the home health score for the residential property.
6. The computer system of claim 5, wherein a first electricity monitoring device of the one or more electricity monitoring devices is configured with at least one sensor that directly connects with an electrical circuit within the residential property to collect the power quality data.
6. The computer system of claim 1, wherein a first electricity monitoring device of the one or more electricity monitoring devices is configured with at least one sensor that directly connects with an electrical circuit within the residential property to collect the power quality data.
7. The computer system of claim 5, wherein a first electricity monitoring device of the one or more electricity monitoring devices is positioned in vicinity of an electrical distribution board of the residential property and is configured with at least one sensor that wirelessly senses the power quality data based upon electromagnetic waves emitted by an electrical device operating within the residential property.
7. The computer system of claim 1, wherein a first electricity monitoring device of the one or more electricity monitoring devices is positioned in vicinity of an electrical distribution board of the residential property and is configured with at least one sensor that wirelessly senses the power quality data based upon electromagnetic waves emitted by an electrical device operating within the residential property.
8. The computer system of claim 5, wherein a first electricity monitoring device of the one or more electricity monitoring devices is plugged into an electrical outlet within the residential property for at least powering the one or more electricity monitoring devices.
8. The computer system of claim 1, wherein a first electricity monitoring device of the one or more electricity monitoring devices is plugged into an electrical outlet within the residential property for at least powering the one or more electricity monitoring devices.
9. The computer system of claim 8, wherein plugging the first electricity monitoring device into the electrical outlet additionally allows a sensor of the first electricity monitoring device to directly connect to an electrical circuit of the residential property.
9. The computer system of claim 8, wherein plugging the first electricity monitoring device into the electrical outlet additionally allows a sensor of the first electricity monitoring device to directly connect to an electrical circuit of the residential property.
10. The computer system of claim 9, wherein the one or more electricity monitoring devices are further configured to distinguish individual electrical devices operating within the residential property based upon a unique electrical signature for each electrical device.
10. The computer system of claim 9, wherein the one or more electricity monitoring devices are further configured to distinguish individual electrical devices operating within the residential property based upon a unique electrical signature for each electrical device.
11. A computer-implemented method for evaluating health aspects of a residential property based on external data from one or more external data sources, the method implemented using a computing device including one or more processors in communication with a memory, the method comprising:
receiving a first element of external data from the one or more external data sources, the first element of external data relating to power quality for a geographical region of the residential property;
determining a home health score for the residential property based at least in part on the first element of external data from the one or more external data sources, the home health score representing a measure of health of the residential property; and
causing to be displayed, via a graphical user interface, the home health score for the residential property.
11. A computer-implemented method for evaluating health aspects of a residential property, the method implemented using a computing device including one or more processors in communication with a memory, the method comprising:
receiving a first element of power quality data captured by one or more electricity monitoring devices installed within the residential property, the one or more electricity monitoring devices configured to collect power quality data for one or more of electrical devices and/or electrical circuits operating within the residential property;
receiving a first element of external data from the one or more external data sources, the first element of external data relating to power quality for a geographical region of the residential property;
determining a home health score for the residential property based at least in part on one or more of the first element of power quality data provided by the one or more electrical monitoring devices and the first element of external data from the one or more external data sources, the home health score representing a measure of health of the residential property; and
causing to be displayed, via a graphical user interface, the home health score for the residential property.
12. The computer-implemented method of claim 11, wherein the one or more external data sources includes one or more of the following: a weather source; a fire or national disaster or emergency source; a power utility source; an internet accessibility source; an insurance provider source; and a geographic image source.
12. The computer-implemented method of claim 11, wherein the one or more external data sources includes one or more of the following: a weather source; a fire or national disaster or emergency source; a power utility source; an internet accessibility source; an insurance provider source; and a geographic image source.
13. The computer-implemented method of claim 11, wherein the external data includes one or more of the following: weather data, power outage data, geographic data, emergency data, fire data, insurance or claim data, demographic data of occupants, and residential data.
13. The computer-implemented method of claim 11, wherein the external data includes one or more of the following: weather data, power outage data, geographic data, emergency data, fire data, insurance or claim data, demographic data of occupants, and residential data.
14. The computer-implemented method of claim 11 comprising one or more electricity monitoring devices installed within the residential property, the one or more electricity monitoring devices configured to collect power quality data for the one or more of electrical devices and/or electrical circuits operating within the residential property, and wherein the method further comprises: building a training dataset using historical power quality data captured by one or more electricity monitoring devices and historical external data from the one or more external data sources; and training a model using the training dataset, wherein the model generates the home health score when applying the received first element of external data and the received first element of external data.
14. The computer-implemented method of claim 11, wherein the method further comprises: building a training dataset using historical power quality data captured by one or more electricity monitoring devices and historical external data from the one or more external data sources; and training a model using the training dataset, wherein the model generates the home health score when applying the received first element of external data and the received first element of external data.
15. The computer-implemented method of claim 11, wherein the method further comprises: receive a first element of power quality data captured by the one or more electricity monitoring devices; and correlating the received first element of external data and the received first element of external data to determine the home health score for the residential property.
15. The computer-implemented method of claim 11, wherein the method further comprises: correlating the received first element of external data and the received first element of external data to determine the home health score for the residential property.
16. The computer-implemented method of claim 15, wherein a first electricity monitoring device of the one or more electricity monitoring devices is configured with at least one sensor that directly connects with an electrical circuit within the residential property to collect the power quality data.
16. The computer-implemented method of claim 11, wherein a first electricity monitoring device of the one or more electricity monitoring devices is configured with at least one sensor that directly connects with an electrical circuit within the residential property to collect the power quality data.
17. The computer-implemented method of claim 15, wherein a first electricity monitoring device of the one or more electricity monitoring devices is positioned in vicinity of an electrical distribution board of the residential property and is configured with at least one sensor that wirelessly senses the power quality data based upon electromagnetic waves emitted by an electrical device operating within the residential property.
17. The computer-implemented method of claim 11, wherein a first electricity monitoring device of the one or more electricity monitoring devices is positioned in vicinity of an electrical distribution board of the residential property and is configured with at least one sensor that wirelessly senses the power quality data based upon electromagnetic waves emitted by an electrical device operating within the residential property.
18. The computer-implemented method of claim 15, wherein a first electricity monitoring device of the one or more electricity monitoring devices is plugged into an electrical outlet within the residential property for at least powering the one or more electricity monitoring devices.
18. The computer-implemented method of claim 11, wherein a first electricity monitoring device of the one or more electricity monitoring devices is plugged into an electrical outlet within the residential property for at least powering the one or more electricity monitoring devices.
19. The computer-implemented method of claim 18, wherein plugging the first electricity monitoring device into the electrical outlet additionally allows a sensor of the first electricity monitoring device to directly connect to an electrical circuit of the residential property.
19. The computer-implemented method of claim 18, wherein plugging the first electricity monitoring device into the electrical outlet additionally allows a sensor of the first electricity monitoring device to directly connect to an electrical circuit of the residential property.
20. A non-transitory computer readable medium having computer-executable instructions embodied thereon for evaluating health aspects of a residential property, wherein when executed by at least one processor, the computer-executable instructions cause the at least one processor to: receive a first element of external data from one or more external data sources, the first element of external data relating to power quality for a geographical region of the residential property; determine a home health score for the residential property based at least in part on the first element of external data from the one or more external data sources, the home health score representing a measure of health of the residential property; and cause to be displayed, via a graphical user interface, the home health score for the residential property.
20. A non-transitory computer readable medium having computer-executable instructions embodied thereon for evaluating health aspects of a residential property, wherein when executed by at least one processor, the computer-executable instructions cause the at least one processor to:
receive a first element of power quality data captured by one or more electricity monitoring devices installed within the residential property, the one or more electricity monitoring devices configured to collect power quality data for one or more of electrical devices and/or electrical circuits within the residential property;
receive a first element of external data from the one or more external data sources, the first element of external data relating to power quality for a geographical region of the residential property;
determine a home health score for the residential property based at least in part on one or more of the first element of power quality data provided by the one or more electrical monitoring devices and the first element of external data from the one or more external data sources, the home health score representing a measure of health of the residential property; and
cause to be displayed, via a graphical user interface, the home health score for the residential property.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
U.S. Patent Publication 2016/0048934 to Gross discloses a property scoring system and
method.
U.S. Patent 9,536,148 to Gross discloses a property assessment and prospecting tool.
U.S. Patent Publication 2015/0339911 to Coyne et al. discloses a system and method for
monitoring, detecting, and reporting emergency conditions using sensors belonging to multiple
organizations.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PAMESHANAND MAHASE whose telephone number is (571) 270-7223. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday- Friday 8:00AM - 5:00PM. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Davetta Goins can be reached on 571-272-2957. 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 the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/PAMESHANAND MAHASE/Examiner, Art Unit 2689
/DAVETTA W GOINS/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2689
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