Ex Parte GlynnDownload PDFBoard of Patent Appeals and InterferencesApr 24, 201010940868 (B.P.A.I. Apr. 24, 2010) Copy Citation UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE ____________ BEFORE THE BOARD OF PATENT APPEALS AND INTERFERENCES ____________ Ex parte KENNETH P. GLYNN ____________ Appeal 2009-001510 Application 10/940,868 Technology Center 2800 ____________ Decided: April 24, 2010 ____________ Before ROBERT E. NAPPI, CARLA M. KRIVAK, and CARL W. WHITEHEAD, JR., Administrative Patent Judges. KRIVAK, Administrative Patent Judge. DECISION ON APPEAL Appellant appeals under 35 U.S.C. § 134(a) from a final rejection of claims 27-50. We have jurisdiction under 35 U.S.C. § 6(b). We affirm. Appeal 2009-001510 Application 10/940,868 2 STATEMENT OF THE CASE Appellant’s claimed invention is a product and method for obtaining product use instructions separate and apart from reading product containers or printed product inserts (Spec. 2:20-22). Independent claim 1, reproduced below, is representative of the subject matter on appeal. 27. A product identifier reading, product use instructions speaking system, which comprises: (a.) a user read and speak unit having hardware and software to: (i.) read a product identifier of a product to obtain a product identification; (ii.) communicate said product identification via a communication link to a server wherein said communication link includes a wireless communication link; (iii.) in response to said communicated product identification, receive product use instructions for said product from said server; (iv.) convert said product use instructions to speech; and (v.) speak said product use instructions; (b.) a server having hardware and software to: (i.) receive said product identification from said user read and speak unit; (ii.) store separate product use instructions for a plurality of different product identifications; Appeal 2009-001510 Application 10/940,868 3 (iii.) match said product identification to a specific stored set of product use instructions; (iv.) communicate said product use instructions to said user read and speak unit via said communication link; and, (c.) a communication link adapted to communicatively connect said user read and speak unit to said server. REFERENCES Swartz US 6,243,447 B1 Jun. 5, 2001 Nakano US 2002/0059175 A1 May 16, 2002 Reed US 6,394,278 B1 May 28, 2002 Matsumoto US 2002/0067811 A1 Jun. 6, 2002 Zellner US 2006/0105784 A1 May 18, 2006 The Examiner rejected claims 27-30, 34, 36-42, 46, and 48-50 under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) based upon the teachings of Nakano and Matsumoto.1 The Examiner rejected claims 27, 31-33, 39, and 43-45 under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) based upon the teachings of Swartz and Zellner. The Examiner rejected claims 35 and 47 under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) based upon the teachings of Swartz, Zellner, and Reed. Appellant contends the user in Nakano does not read product information and does not control the actual functional processing of the product (App. Br. 9). Appellant further contends Matsumoto is non- analogous art and therefore cannot be combined with Nakano (App. Br. 9). Appellant also contends Swartz is not directed to a system that retrieves 1 The Examiner noted that claims 35 and 47 were incorrectly included in this rejection based upon the teachings of Nakano and Matsumoto, however they remain rejected over Swartz, Zellner, and Reed (Ans. 4). Appeal 2009-001510 Application 10/940,868 4 product instructions for post-purchase product use and Zellner is directed to non-analogous art (App. Br. 11). ISSUES Does the combination of Nakano and Matsumoto render obvious Appellant’s claimed invention? Does the combination of Swartz and Zellner render obvious Appellant’s claimed invention? FINDINGS OF FACT 1. Nakano discloses a food information management system that includes an information storage medium 20, 20a attached to a food package 21a that contains processed food 21 and ID information specifying the food. A read means reads the ID information. A database 11 retrieves information about the food specified by the ID information. An output means receives and displays the information. (Abstract; ¶ [0016]) 2. In Nakano inquiries to the database can be made through a home server 33 via cable or wireless communications (¶ [0055]). 3. The information in Nakano’s database includes cooking conditions (¶ [0017]). 4. Matsumoto discloses a microwave oven or other digital device communicating via a network so images and sounds showing a recipe, etc., are downloaded and displayed on a display or provided aurally through a speaker (¶ [0068]). Appeal 2009-001510 Application 10/940,868 5 5. Swartz discloses a computer 73 contains information about each product within a store. The information includes, for example, price, expiration date, and recipes. (Col. 7, ll. 37-40) 6. Zellner discloses the content of a message in digital text format can be converted to speech (¶ [0056]). 7. Reed discloses speaking information into a microphone, transmitting the information to a workstation, and using it to search a database (Abstract). PRINCIPLES OF LAW KSR Int’l Co. v. Teleflex Inc., 550 U.S. 398, 416 (2007) (citing Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 12 (1966)), reaffirmed principles based on its precedent that “[t]he combination of familiar elements according to known methods is likely to be obvious when it does no more than yield predictable results. . . If a person of ordinary skill can implement a predictable variation, §103 likely bars its patentability. For the same reason, if a technique has been used to improve one device, and a person of ordinary skill in the art would recognize that it would improve similar devices in the same way, using the technique is obvious unless its actual application is beyond his or her skill. Sakraida [v. AG Pro, Inc., 425 U.S. 273 (1976)] and Anderson's-Black Rock [, Inc. v. Pavement Salvage Co., 396 U.S. 57 (1969)] are illustrative—a court must ask whether the improvement is more than the predictable use of prior art elements according to their established functions. Id. at 417. Appeal 2009-001510 Application 10/940,868 6 ANALYSIS Claims 27-30, 34, 36-42, 46, and 48-50 Appellant contends Nakano is directed to a food information management system where every food packaging product has an information medium attached thereto having a memory storage and retrieval chip that includes a food database stored therein (App. Br. 8). The information medium is read and displayed, or stored data or information is retrieved, from a remote database and displayed (App. Br. 7). Appellant argues this is not the same as a user scanning a product bar code or other identifier with a user read and speak unit that wirelessly communicates with a server to provide audio information, as claimed (App. Br. 7). Appellant further asserts this allows a user to obtain assembly instructions or other product information, such as recipes, any time or place where the product is situated (App. Br. 8). The Examiner finds Nakano teaches all the features of Appellant’s invention except for including a server and providing a spoken output (FF 1; Ans. 4-5). Although Nakano does have an information medium attached to each food package, and not just a bar code, food ID information is stored therein, is read and sent to a food information center that retrieves information about a food specified by the food ID, and outputs the information (¶ [0016]). The food ID information is sent via the Internet N (FF 2; Fig. 1) to the food database. The food database is queried for food information including cooking information such as cooking methods, times, and methods (FF 3; ¶ [0047]; ¶ [0055]). The food information is then displayed (¶ [0048]). Matsumoto was relied on to show a communications device, built in a microwave or other type of device, for downloading and Appeal 2009-001510 Application 10/940,868 7 displaying on a display or providing aurally through a speaker, multimedia data such as images and sounds showing a cooking recipe (FF4; ¶ [0068]). Thus, combining information showing recipes or product information, as taught by Matsumoto, with Nakano’s food management system would be a combination of familiar elements according to known methods, contrary to Appellant’s assertions (App. Br. 9-10), and would yield no more than predictable results. Appellant urges that because claim 38 recites the term “preparation recipe,†and Nakano does not, Nakano does not teach this feature (App. Br. 8). However, Nakano teaches food information stored in the food database includes cooking conditions and cooking methods (FF 3; ¶ [0038]). Appellant’s claims merely require a preparation recipe, which, giving this term its broadest reasonable interpretation, includes instruction for food preparation (Ans. 8). Claims 27, 31-33, 39, 43-45 Appellant contends Swartz does not teach or suggest a system for retrieving post-purchase product use instructions such as recipes, and that Zellner is non analogous art (App. Br. 11). However, Swartz does teach retrieving recipes (FF 5). Further, “post-purchase product use instructions†are not claimed (Ans. 10-11). Zellner discloses a portable device that converts text-to-speech. Because Swartz teaches a portable phone having a text feature, combining the text-to-speech feature of Zellner with Swartz’s text features, would be a combination of familiar elements according to known methods. Appeal 2009-001510 Application 10/940,868 8 Claims 35 and 47 Reed was relied on for teaching it was known in the art at the time of Appellant’s invention to use an audio input for matching information stored in a database that is retrieved and forwarded to a user (FF 7). Because Swartz teaches an I/O block for processing audio, visual, or tactile inputs used to send voice commands during a scan mode (col. 5, ll. 29-39; col. 7, ll. 18-23), it would have been an obvious variation to expand the voice recognition of Swartz to include retrieving product information via audio as taught by Reed for ease of use, convenience, and operability (Ans. 11). CONCLUSION Nakano, along with various combinations of Matsumoto, Swartz, and Zellner, renders obvious Appellant’s claimed invention. DECISION The Examiner’s decision rejecting claims 27-50 is affirmed. No time period for taking any subsequent action in connection with this appeal may be extended under 37 C.F.R. § 1.136(a)(1)(iv). AFFIRMED gvw KENNETH P. GLYNN GLYNN & ASSOCIATES 24 MINE STREET FLEMINGTON, NJ 08822 Copy with citationCopy as parenthetical citation