HANWHA TECHWIN CO., LTD.Download PDFPatent Trials and Appeals BoardJul 27, 20212020001553 (P.T.A.B. Jul. 27, 2021) Copy Citation UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE United States Patent and Trademark Office Address: COMMISSIONER FOR PATENTS P.O. Box 1450 Alexandria, Virginia 22313-1450 www.uspto.gov APPLICATION NO. FILING DATE FIRST NAMED INVENTOR ATTORNEY DOCKET NO. CONFIRMATION NO. 15/446,717 03/01/2017 Hyun Ho KIM HT70003 3956 71433 7590 07/27/2021 McLean IP Global 3010 Lyndon B Johnson Freeway Suite 1200 Dallas, TX 75234 EXAMINER STRAUB, D'ARCY WINSTON ART UNIT PAPER NUMBER 2491 NOTIFICATION DATE DELIVERY MODE 07/27/2021 ELECTRONIC Please find below and/or attached an Office communication concerning this application or proceeding. The time period for reply, if any, is set in the attached communication. Notice of the Office communication was sent electronically on above-indicated "Notification Date" to the following e-mail address(es): contact@mcleanip.com jason.pahng@gmail.com jason.pahng@mcleanip.com PTOL-90A (Rev. 04/07) UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE BEFORE THE PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD Ex parte HYUN HO KIM, KYUNG DUK KIM, and MIN JUNG SHIM Appeal 2020-001553 Application 15/446,717 Technology Center 2400 Before DEBRA K. STEPHENS, RAE LYNN P. GUEST, and AMBER L. HAGY, Administrative Patent Judges. HAGY, Administrative Patent Judge. DECISION ON APPEAL STATEMENT OF THE CASE Pursuant to 35 U.S.C. § 134(a), Appellant1 appeals from the Examiner’s decision rejecting claims 8–20, which are all of the pending claims.2 See Appeal Br. 1. We have jurisdiction under 35 U.S.C. § 6(b). We affirm. 1 We use the word Appellant to refer to “applicant” as defined in 37 C.F.R. § 1.42. Appellant identifies the real party in interest as Hanwha Techwin Co., Ltd. Appeal Br. 2. 2 Appellant canceled claim 1 in an amendment dated April 26, 2019, and canceled claims 2–7 and 21 in an Amendment After Final dated June 21, 2019. Per the Advisory Action dated July 3, 2019, the Examiner entered the Amendment After Final. Appeal 2020-001553 Application 15/446,717 2 CLAIMED SUBJECT MATTER Appellant’s Specification describes a surveillance camera system and a method of updating set values for the surveillance cameras. Spec. ¶¶ 3, 8. By way of background, Appellant’s Specification describes “increased installation time” and “increased time for maintenance” associated with setting “an access address for each of the surveillance cameras” in a system. Id. ¶ 5. As an improvement, Appellant’s Specification describes a system in which a surveillance camera may “read a recognized object” such as a QR code, and update a set value, such as an IP address of the camera. Id. ¶¶ 65– 66, 87. Claims 8 and 10 are independent and are reproduced below: 8. The method of controlling an installation of a surveillance camera, the method comprising: detecting the surveillance camera connected to a network; generating mapping data of the detected surveillance camera; sending a request for a set value of one or more set items of the detected surveillance camera to the detected surveillance camera; receiving the set value from the detected surveillance camera; and updating the mapping data of the detected surveillance camera based on the received set value. 10. A surveillance camera system, comprising: at least one surveillance camera configured to: update a set value of one or more set items by reading a readable object in a captured image; and Appeal 2020-001553 Application 15/446,717 3 transmit the set value of the one or more set items to an external device in response to receiving a request for the set value therefrom; a user terminal configured to display the readable object on a display based on at least one of user’s input and a surveillance camera database; and a surveillance camera mapping database configured to: send the request for the set value of the one or more set items to the at least one surveillance camera; and update mapping data of the at least one surveillance camera by receiving the set value from the at least one surveillance camera. Appeal Br. 7, 8 (Claims Appendix). REFERENCE The prior art relied upon by the Examiner is: Name Reference Date Liu3 US 2008/0198159 A1 Aug. 21, 2008 Lee US 2013/0120571 A1 May 16, 2013 Skans US 2016/0343137 A1 Nov. 24, 2016 Madar US 2017/0278365 A1 Sept. 28, 2017 REJECTIONS Claims 8–14 and 16–19 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 102(a)(1)4 as anticipated by Madar. Final Act. 6–11. Claim 15 stands rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as obvious over the combination of Madar, Skans, and Lee. Final Act. 15–17. 3 All references are cited using the first-named inventor. 4 All rejections are under the provisions of Title 35 of the United States Code in effect after the effective date of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act of 2011. Appeal 2020-001553 Application 15/446,717 4 Claim 20 stands rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as obvious over the combination of Madar, Skans, and Liu. Final Act. 17–18. OPINION Appellant appeals the Final Rejection with regard to only claims 8 and 10. See Appeal Br. 1, 6. We have considered Appellant’s arguments and contentions (Appeal Br. 3–6; Reply Br. 4–9) in light of the Examiner’s findings and explanations (Final Act. 6–9; Ans. 3–9). For the reasons set forth below, we are not persuaded of Examiner error in the rejections of the pending claims, and we, therefore, sustain the Examiner’s rejections. A. Claim 8 The Examiner finds Madar discloses each of the limitations of claim 8. Final Act. 6–7; Ans. 4–5. With regard to the detecting step, the Examiner finds Madar discloses that, upon startup, the surveillance camera sends a request to the registration server for an IP address, with the registration server detecting the camera through the request. Final Act. 6 (citing Madar ¶ 50). With regard to the step of “generating mapping data,” the Examiner finds Madar discloses an application executing on a user device that sends configuration information about the surveillance camera to the registration server. Id. at 7 (citing Madar ¶¶ 43, 56). With regard to the step of “sending a request for a set value,” the Examiner finds Madar discloses a configuration image (such as a QR code) is presented to the surveillance camera. Id. (citing Madar ¶¶ 55–56); Ans. 4–5 (citing Madar ¶¶ 46, 55). The Examiner finds Madar discloses that the QR code “is preferably supplied by the registration server,” and thus the registration server “indirectly requests the configuration information through the presentation Appeal 2020-001553 Application 15/446,717 5 of the QR code to the camera.” Id. at 5 (quoting Madar ¶ 46). With regard to the step of “receiving the set value from the detected surveillance camera,” the Examiner find Madar discloses “the configuration image is sent to the registration server . . . by the surveillance camera . . . in conjunction with surveillance camera information.” Id. (quoting Madar ¶ 57). With regard to the step of “updating the mapping data,” the Examiner finds Madar discloses the application executing on the user device sends configuration information of the detected surveillance camera to the registration server, and the information is then stored. Final Act. 7 (citing Madar ¶¶ 56, 60). Appellant argues that the Examiner’s findings are in error because Madar does not disclose “sending a request for a set value of one or more set items of the detected surveillance camera to the detected surveillance camera” and “receiving the set value from the detected surveillance camera.” Appeal Br. 4. In particular, Appellant contends that “Madar’s camera . . . is only capable of taking a photo . . . and nothing else.” Id. We disagree. As the Examiner determines, and we agree, the “set value” as described in the Specification is broad, and encompasses “configuration information” as described in Madar. Ans. 4 (citing Spec. ¶ 87; Madar ¶ 56). The Examiner also finds: As for “sending a request ... to the ... camera,” Madar at ¶ [0055] states, with reference to Fig. 2, that “in step 618, the configuration image is presented to the surveillance camera 103-1.” Here, holding the QR code (i.e., configuration image, see Madar at ¶ [0046]) up to the camera serves as the “request” that is sent to the “camera” by the mere presentation of the QR code to the camera. Madar discloses at ¶ [0046] that the QR code “is preferably supplied by the registration server.” Thus, owing to the broad nature of claim 8 that fails to recite the origin of the request, Madar teaches the Appellant’s “sending” Appeal 2020-001553 Application 15/446,717 6 step by way of the registration server that indirectly requests the configuration information through the presentation of the QR code to the camera. Regarding the second step of “receiving the set value from the ... camera,” Madar teaches this step at ¶ [0057] with reference to Fig. 2. Madar states, “In step 622, the configuration image is sent to the registration server 314 by the surveillance camera 103-1 in conjunction with surveillance camera information ....” The “surveillance camera information” referenced in ¶ [0057] comprises the aforementioned “configuration information” that teaches the “set value,” and Madar clearly teaches that the registration server “receiv[es]” this information from the camera. Ans. 4–5. We agree the Examiner’s findings are supported by the cited teachings, and we adopt these findings as our own. In the Reply, Appellant raises several additional arguments against the Examiner’s rejection of claim 8. Reply 5–6. Appellant premises these arguments on the steps recited in claim 9, which recite that the “one or more set items comprise at least one of” several types of information. Id. (emphasis added). Appellant contends the steps listed in claim 9 “further define[] at least 4 cases for the set items.” Id. at 5. As noted above, however, Appellant presents no arguments regarding claim 9 in the Appeal Brief. Moreover, we find nothing in the Examiner’s Answer that would have prompted these new arguments raised by Appellant for the first time in the Reply Brief. Rather, the Examiner’s stated reasoning in the Final Action (Final Act. 4–5) and in the Advisory Action dated July 3, 2019 (Adv. Act. 2) is identical to the reasoning stated in the Answer (Ans. 4–5). Therefore, Appellant’s new arguments in the Reply brief are not entitled to our consideration. Optivus Technology, Inc. v. Ion Beam Applications S.A., 469 F.3d 978, 989 (Fed. Cir. 2006) (argument raised for the first time in the reply Appeal 2020-001553 Application 15/446,717 7 brief that could have been raised in the opening brief is waived); accord Ex parte Borden, 93 USPQ2d 1473, 1473–74 (BPAI 2010) (informative opinion) (absent a showing of good cause, the Board is not required to address an argument newly presented in the reply brief that could have been presented in the principal brief on appeal). For the foregoing reasons, we are not persuaded of Examiner error in the rejection of claim 8, and we, therefore, sustain that rejection. B. Claim 10 The Examiner finds Madar discloses all of the limitations of claim 10, based on reasoning similar to that presented for claim 8. Final Act. 7–9. Appellant argues the Examiner’s findings are in error because Madar does not disclose the surveillance camera updates a set value. Appeal Br. 6. Rather, on Appellant’s reading, “[i]n Madar, the set value is updated in the registration server and the surveillance camera merely sends the image to the registration server.” Id. We are not persuaded of Examiner error. As the Examiner finds, and we agree, the limitation “update a set value” is disclosed by Madar, which states, “the configuration image is sent to the registration server 314 by the surveillance camera 103-1 in conjunction with surveillance camera information obtained from the surveillance camera 103-1.” Ans. 7–8 (quoting Madar ¶ 57). The Examiner maps the “set value” of claim 10 to Madar’s “surveillance camera information,” and finds “this surveillance camera information is updated by way of associating it with the configuration image (i.e., QR code).” Id. at 8. In particular, the Examiner finds “[u]pdating information can occur by altering the information itself, adding new information to it, and deleting information from it. Here, Madar Appeal 2020-001553 Application 15/446,717 8 updates the surveillance camera information (i.e., ‘set values’) by adding information to it, which is the information contained within the QR code.” Id. The Examiner further finds, with respect to Fig. 2 of Madar, this step is implied with step 622 where it states, “Send configuration image (e.g., QR code) in conjunction with surveillance camera (SC) configuration information obtained from SC 622.” The implied step that adds the QR code to the configuration information might be thought of as step 621 that occurs at the surveillance camera 103-1. Id. Thus, the Examiner finds Madar discloses the surveillance camera is configured to “update a set value” by associating the QR code read by the camera with surveillance camera information (e.g., configuration information, which the Examiner maps to set values). Id. at 6–9. The Examiner further finds this is done in Madar by the surveillance camera in response to receiving a request because “the displaying of the QR code in step 618 is done to initiate the transmission of the configuration information (i.e., set value) to the registration server as accomplished in step 622.” Id. at 9. The Examiner’s findings are supported by the cited evidence, and we adopt them as our own. In its Reply, Appellant submits new arguments in response to the Examiner’s Answer, including arguing the rejection of claim 10 by reference to a claim (claim 11) not addressed by Appellant in the Appeal Brief. See Reply 7–9. As noted above, these new arguments in reply are not entitled to our consideration. For the foregoing reasons, we are not persuaded of Examiner error in the rejection of claim 10, and we, therefore, sustain that rejection. Appeal 2020-001553 Application 15/446,717 9 C. Claims 9 and 11–20 Appellant does not present arguments with regard to dependent claims 9 and 11–20. We, therefore, summarily affirm the Examiner’s rejection of those claims. See Manual of Patent Examining Procedure (MPEP) § 1205.02, 9th ed., Rev. 8, Aug. 2017 (“If a ground of rejection stated by the examiner is not addressed in the appellant’s brief, appellant has waived any challenge to that ground of rejection and the Board may summarily sustain it, unless the examiner subsequently withdrew the rejection in the examiner’s answer.”); 37 C.F.R. § 41.39(a)(1). CONCLUSION The Examiner’s rejections of claims 8–20 are sustained. DECISION SUMMARY In summary: Claim(s) Rejected 35 U.S.C. § Reference(s)/Basis Affirmed Reversed 8–14, 16–19 102(a)(1) Madar 8–14, 16–19 15 103 Madar, Skans, Lee 15 20 103 Madar, Skans, Liu 20 Overall Outcome 8–20 TIME PERIOD FOR RESPONSE No time period for taking any subsequent action in connection with this appeal may be extended under 37 C.F.R. § 1.136(a). See 37 C.F.R. § 1.136(a)(1)(iv). AFFIRMED Copy with citationCopy as parenthetical citation