UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
`
`
`
`UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
`United States Patent and Trademark Office
`Address: COMMISSIONER FOR PATENTS
`PO. Box 1450
`Alexandria, Virginia 2231371450
`www.uspto.gov
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`15/914,755
`
`03/07/2018
`
`Eiichi Hatae
`
`731156.433C1
`
`3447
`
`Seed IP Law Group LLP/Panason1e
`701 Fifth Avenue, Suite 5400
`Seattle, WA 98104
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`REN' ZHUBING
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`PAPER NUMBER
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`ART UNIT
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`2483
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`NOTIFICATION DATE
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`DELIVERY MODE
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`02/12/2020
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`ELECTRONIC
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`Please find below and/or attached an Office communication concerning this application or proceeding.
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`The time period for reply, if any, is set in the attached communication.
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`Notice of the Office communication was sent electronically on above—indicated "Notification Date" to the
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`following e—mail address(es):
`US PTOeACtion @ SeedIP .Com
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`pairlinkdktg @ seedip .eom
`
`PTOL-90A (Rev. 04/07)
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`

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`017/09 A0170” Summary
`
`Application No.
`15/914,755
`Examiner
`ZHUBING REN
`
`Applicant(s)
`Hatae et al.
`Art Unit
`2483
`
`AIA (FITF) Status
`Yes
`
`- The MAILING DA TE of this communication appears on the cover sheet wit/7 the correspondence address -
`Period for Reply
`
`A SHORTENED STATUTORY PERIOD FOR REPLY IS SET TO EXPIRE g MONTHS FROM THE MAILING
`DATE OF THIS COMMUNICATION.
`Extensions of time may be available under the provisions of 37 CFR 1.136(a). In no event, however, may a reply be timely filed after SIX (6) MONTHS from the mailing
`date of this communication.
`|f NO period for reply is specified above, the maximum statutory period will apply and will expire SIX (6) MONTHS from the mailing date of this communication.
`-
`- Failure to reply within the set or extended period for reply will, by statute, cause the application to become ABANDONED (35 U.S.C. § 133).
`Any reply received by the Office later than three months after the mailing date of this communication, even if timely filed, may reduce any earned patent term
`adjustment. See 37 CFR 1.704(b).
`
`Status
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`1). Responsive to communication(s) filed on 1/28/2020.
`CI A declaration(s)/affidavit(s) under 37 CFR 1.130(b) was/were filed on
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`2a). This action is FINAL.
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`2b) D This action is non-final.
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`3)[:] An election was made by the applicant in response to a restriction requirement set forth during the interview
`on
`; the restriction requirement and election have been incorporated into this action.
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`4):] Since this application is in condition for allowance except for formal matters, prosecution as to the merits is
`closed in accordance with the practice under Expade Quay/e, 1935 CD. 11, 453 O.G. 213.
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`Disposition of Claims*
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`5)
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`Claim(s)
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`1—10 and 16—17 is/are pending in the application.
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`5a) Of the above claim(s)
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`is/are withdrawn from consideration.
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`
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`[:1 Claim(ss)
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`is/are allowed.
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`Claim(ss) 1— 10 and 16— 17 is/are rejected.
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`D Claim(ss_) is/are objected to.
`
`) ) ) )
`
`S)
`are subject to restriction and/or election requirement
`[:1 Claim(s
`* If any claims have been determined aflowable. you may be eligible to benefit from the Patent Prosecution Highway program at a
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`participating intellectual property office for the corresponding application. For more information, please see
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`http://www.uspto.gov/patents/init events/pph/index.jsp or send an inquiry to PPeredback@uspto.gov.
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`Application Papers
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`10)|:l The specification is objected to by the Examiner.
`
`is/are: a)[] accepted or b)l:] objected to by the Examiner.
`11)[:] The drawing(s) filed on
`Applicant may not request that any objection to the drawing(s) be held in abeyance. See 37 CFR 1.85(a).
`Replacement drawing sheet(s) including the correction is required if the drawing(s) is objected to. See 37 CFR 1.121 (d).
`
`Priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119
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`12)D Acknowledgment is made of a claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(a)-(d) or (f).
`Certified copies:
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`a)I:l All
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`b)|:] Some**
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`c)l:i None of the:
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`1C] Certified copies of the priority documents have been received.
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`2C] Certified copies of the priority documents have been received in Application No.
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`3D Copies of the certified copies of the priority documents have been received in this National Stage
`application from the International Bureau (PCT Rule 17.2(a)).
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`** See the attached detailed Office action for a list of the certified copies not received.
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`Attachment(s)
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`1)
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`Notice of References Cited (PTO-892)
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`2) C] Information Disclosure Statement(s) (PTO/SB/08a and/or PTO/SB/08b)
`Paper No(s)/Mail Date_
`U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
`
`3) E] Interview Summary (PTO-413)
`Paper No(s)/Mail Date
`4) CI Other-
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`PTOL-326 (Rev. 11-13)
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`Office Action Summary
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`Part of Paper No./Mai| Date 20200206
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`

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`Application/Control Number:15/914,755
`Art Unit:2483
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`Page2
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`Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
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`1.
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`The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first
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`inventor to file provisions of the AIA.
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`DETAILED ACTION
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`Summary
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`2.
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`3.
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`This action is in reply to Applicant’s Amendments and Remarks filed on 1/28/2020.
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`Claims 1-10 and 16-17 are pending.
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`Response to Arguments
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`4.
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`Applicant's arguments with respect to amended claims and originally presented claims have been
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`fully considered but they are moot in view of the new grounds of rejection.
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`5.
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`During patent examination, the pending claims must be "given their broadest reasonable
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`interpretation consistent with the specification." Phi/lips v. AWH Corp., 415 F.3d 1303, at 1316 (Fed. Cir.
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`2005). See also In re Hyatt, 211 F.3d 1367, 1372, 54 USPQ2d 1664, 1667 (Fed. Cir. 2000).
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`Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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`6.
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`In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and
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`103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis for
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`the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale
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`supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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`7.
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`The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections
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`set forth in this Office action:
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`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.
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`8.
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`Claim 1-10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim (US
`
`20140218517 A1) in view of Borel et al (US 9313556 B1).
`
`Regarding claim 1 and 6, Kim discloses a camera monitoring system [e.g. FIG. 1 and 5]
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`comprising: a plurality of cameras [e.g. FIG. 5; cameras], each of the plurality of cameras including an
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`

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`Application/Control Number:15/914,755
`Art Unit:2483
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`Page3
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`imager and a communicator [receiving command from 510]; a master device [510] that, in operation [e.g.
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`FIG. 13], wirelessly communicates with the plurality of cameras [wireless networks]; a smartphone [532]
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`having a home security application that realizes a monitoring function installed therein [e.g. FIG. 14], the
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`smartphone being connected to a mobile telephone network to which one or more other mobile
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`telephones are connected [FIG. 5]; and a wireless router disposed in a house [e.g. home network],
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`wherein the wireless router, in operation e.g. FIG. 13], provides a wireless local area network (LAN) that
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`connects the master device and the smartphone [e.g. FIG. 5], wherein the master device, in operation,
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`receives first plural image data transmission request display request [e.g. FIG. 15 and 17], via the
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`wireless router, from the smartphone, and in response to receiving the first plural-image data transmission
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`request from the smartphone, transmits a first image request to the plurality of cameras [e.g. FIG. 17;
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`images from different cameras], wherein each of the plurality of cameras, in response to receiving the
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`image request from the master device, sends a respective one of a plurality of images to the master
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`device [e.g. FIG. 17; images from room1 and room2], and wherein the master device, after receiving the
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`plurality of images from the plurality of cameras, forms one image, and transmits the image via the
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`wireless router to the smartphone for display on the smartphone such that the smartphone receives the
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`image via the wireless LAN provided by the wireless router [e.g. FIG. 17; displaying the video from
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`different cameras].
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`It is noted that Kim differs to the present invention in that Kim fails to explicitly disclose one
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`multiple segmented image.
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`However, Borel teaches the well-known concept of forming a first multiple-segmented image
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`[e.g. FIG. 6; split images] that includes the plurality of images [images] received from the plurality of
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`cameras [e.g. Webcams] in multiple segments of the first multiple-segmented image, displaying the first
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`multiple-segmented image to the smartphone [e.g. FIG. 6 and 2].
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`It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of
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`the invention to modify the monitoring system disclosed by Kim to eXploit the well-known concept of
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`forming segmented image technique taught by Borel as above, in order to provide displaying multiple
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`events in the home monitoring areas [See Borel; column 6: lines 61-67].
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`

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`Application/Control Number:15/914,755
`Art Unit:2483
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`Page4
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`Regarding claim 2, and 7, Kim further discloses the master device, after transmitting the image to
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`the smartphone for display, and after receiving a display request directed to one of the image from the
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`smartphone [e.g. FIG. 13], transmits one of the plurality of images corresponding to the requested one of
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`the image as a magnified single image to the smartphone for display on the smartphone [e.g. FIG. 16 and
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`17; enlarge and display an image of a corresponding camera].
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`It is noted that Kim differs to the present invention in that Kim fails to explicitly disclose one
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`multiple segmented image.
`
`However, Borel teaches the well-known concept of forming one multiple-segmented image [e.g.
`
`FIG. 6].
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`It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of
`
`the invention to modify the monitoring system disclosed by Kim to eXploit the well-known concept of
`
`forming segmented image technique taught by Borel as above, in order to provide displaying multiple
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`events in the home monitoring areas [See Borel; column 6: lines 61-67].
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`Regarding claim 3 and 8, Kim further discloses the master device, after receiving a display
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`request directed to one of the images [e.g. FIG. 13], generates a single image using image data of the
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`one of the plurality of images corresponding to the requested one of the image portion and transmits the
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`single image to the smartphone [e.g. FIG. 16 and 17].
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`It is noted that Kim differs to the present invention in that Kim fails to explicitly disclose one
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`multiple segmented image.
`
`However, Borel teaches the well-known concept of forming one multiple-segmented image [e.g.
`
`FIG. 6].
`
`It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of
`
`the invention to modify the monitoring system disclosed by Kim to eXploit the well-known concept of
`
`forming segmented image technique taught by Borel as above, in order to provide displaying multiple
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`events in the home monitoring areas [See Borel; column 6: lines 61-67].
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`Regarding claim 4 and 9, Kim further discloses the master device, after receiving a display
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`request [e.g. FIG. 13; request image from device #1] directed to one of the images, stops forwarding
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`image data from one or more of the plurality of cameras [e.g. image data from device #2] other than the
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`

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`Application/Control Number:15/914,755
`Art Unit:2483
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`Page5
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`camera that images the requested one of the plurality of images, and forwards image data from the
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`camera that images the requested one of the plurality of images as the single image to the smartphone
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`[e.g. FIG. 13 and 17].
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`It is noted that Kim differs to the present invention in that Kim fails to explicitly disclose one
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`multiple segmented image.
`
`However, Borel teaches the well-known concept of forming one multiple-segmented image [e.g.
`
`FIG. 6].
`
`It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of
`
`the invention to modify the monitoring system disclosed by Kim to eXploit the well-known concept of
`
`forming segmented image technique taught by Borel as above, in order to provide displaying multiple
`
`events in the home monitoring areas [See Borel; column 6: lines 61-67].
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`Regarding claim 5 and 10, Kim further discloses each of plurality of cameras further includes a
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`wireless LAN communicator [e.g. FIG. 1 and 5; wireless communication scheme].
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`9.
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`Claim 16 and 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim (US
`
`20140218517 A1) in view of Borel et al (US 9313556 B1) and OKAZAKI (US 20140244858 A1).
`
`Regarding claim 16 and 17, Kim further discloses the master device, after transmitting the first
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`multiple-segmented image [e.g. FIG. 11 and 15; real-time collecting image data continuously], receives a
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`single- image data transmission request [e.g. FIG. 13] that identifies one of the plurality of cameras [e.g.
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`Home device 2], via the wireless router, from the smartphone, in response to receiving the single-image
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`data transmission request that identifies the one of the plurality of cameras, forms a single-segment
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`image that includes the one of the plurality of images received from the one of the plurality of cameras
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`[e.g. FIG. 18], and transmits the single-segment image via the wireless router to the smartphone [e.g.
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`FIG. 18 and 19], after transmitting the single-segment image, receives a second plural- image data
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`transmission request from the smartphone [e.g. FIG. 17; images from room1 and room2 cameras], via the
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`wireless router, from the smartphone, and in response to receiving the second plural-image data
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`transmission request from the smartphone, transmits a second image data transmission request to each
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`of the plurality of cameras other than the one of the plurality of cameras [e.g. FIG. 17; images from room1
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`and room2 cameras], wherein each of the plurality of cameras other than the one of the plurality of
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`

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`Application/Control Number:15/914,755
`Art Unit:2483
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`Page6
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`cameras, in response to receiving the second image request from the master device, sends the
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`respective one of the plurality of images to the master device [e.g. FIG. 17; images from room1 and
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`room2], and wherein the master device, after transmitting the second image data transmission request,
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`receives the respective one of the plurality of images from each of the plurality of cameras [cameras for
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`room1 and room 2] other than the one of the plurality of cameras, gets an images received from the
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`plurality of cameras, and transmits the images via the wireless router to the smartphone for display [e.g.
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`FIG. 17] on the smartphone such that the smartphone receives the second multiple-segmented image via
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`the wireless LAN provided by the wireless router [e.g. FIG. 5 and 17; displaying the video from different
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`cameras].
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`It is noted that Kim differs to the present invention in that Kim fails to explicitly disclose one
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`multiple segmented image and disconnecting the cameras not sending images.
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`However, Borel teaches the well-known concept of forms a second multiple-segmented image
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`[e.g. FIG. 6; split images] that includes the plurality of images received from the plurality of cameras in
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`multiple segments of the second multiple- segmented image [e.g. images from Webcams], and displaying
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`the second multiple-segmented image to the smartphone for display on the smartphone [e.g. FIG. 6 and
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`2; split images]
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`Moreover, OKAZAKI teaches the well-known concept of transmits a link disconnection instruction
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`to each of the plurality of cameras if not sending images [e.g. FIG. 5 and 8],
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`It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of
`
`the invention to modify the monitoring system disclosed by Kim to eXploit the well-known concept of
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`forming segmented image technique taught by Borel and the well-known communication technique
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`between a smart phone and a camera taught by OKAZAKI as above, in order to provide displaying
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`multiple events in the home monitoring areas [See Borel; column 6: lines 61-67] and improvement of
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`communication speed [See OKAZAKI; [0006]].
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`Conclusion
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`10.
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`THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth
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`in 37 CFR1.136(a).
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`

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`Application/Control Number:15/914,755
`Art Unit:2483
`
`Page7
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`A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from
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`the mailing date of this action.
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`In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date
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`of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH
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`shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action
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`is mailed, and any extension fee pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of
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`the advisory action.
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`In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX
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`MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
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`11.
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`Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should
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`be directed to ZHUBING REN whose telephone number is (571)272-2788. The examiner can normally
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`be reached on Monday-Friday 9am-5pm.
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`Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a
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`USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use
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`the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
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`If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor,
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`Joseph Ustaris can be reached on 571 -2727383. The fax phone number for the organization where this
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`application or proceeding is assigned is 571 -273-8300.
`
`Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application
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`Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from
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`either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through
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`

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`Application/Control Number:15/914,755
`Art Unit:2483
`
`/ZHUB|NG REN/
`
`Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2483
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`Page8
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