U.S. AppI’n No. 09/317,235
`Amendment
`
`Kil
`(Aas
`
`a user interface for enabling a user at a remote location to create or modify at least
`
`a portion of the messageprofiles in the messageprofile database,
`
`wherein whensaid sensor detects an exception condition in the piece of remote
`
`equipment, said interface unit generates an incoming messageindicative of the exception
`
`condition and forwards said messageto said server.—
`
`
`
`Claims 1-50 were examined. Claims 1-50 were rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) as
`
`REMARKS
`
`being unpatentable over U.S. Patent No. 5,400,246 to Wilson et al. On May 4, 2000, the
`
`undersigned submitted some proposed claim amendmentsin further of an interview. On May11,
`
`2000, the undersigned and the Examiner, Daryl Pope, had an in-person interview where the
`
`proposed claims were discussed. The above claim amendments are the same claims discussed on
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`May 11. Thegist of the claim amendments can be found in Claims 1 and 31; the remaining
`
`claims have, by and large, been amendedfor proper antecedency/dependency reasons. New
`
`claims 51 and 52 are ofslightly different scope from Claims 1 and 31. No new matter has been
`
`added. The Examinerindicated that it appeared that the independentclaims, Claims 1 and 31 as
`
`well as newly added Claims 51 and 52 recited patentable subject matter. Applicants
`
`wholeheartedly thank the Examinerfor taking the time and effort to review the proposed claim
`
`amendments and meet with them in the interview, and they appreciate the indication that the
`
`claimsare likely patentable over the citedart.
`
`The invention is an electronic message delivery system for monitoring remote equipment,
`
`receiving signals from the remote equipmentbasedonthestatus of the equipment, and sending
`
`outgoing messagesto the appropriate parties and their various communication devices based on
`
`the messages received. The invention includes sensors locally connected to the remote
`
`
`
`
`
`
`equipment, interface units locally connected to the sensors, and a computer server that can
`
`
`
`receive messages from the remote interface units based on the readings of the sensors. The
`
`
`12
`
`

`

`U.S. AppP’n No. 09/317,235
`Amendment
`
`interface units are not hardwired into the computer server, they communicate via remote means,
`
`such asvia the cellular telephone networkor the Internet.
`
`Oneofthe critical aspects of the inventionis that the server includes a user interface
`
`which allows each user to remotely configure the server by configuring (creating, modifying,
`
`deleting, etc.) a message profile. The message profile is essentially a set of instructionsthattells
`
`the server any orall of the following: a) to whom to route outgoing messages; b) which messages
`
`get routed to which person; c) to what communication devices the messagesare routed (fax,
`
`pager, e-mail, etc.); d) if there should be a time delay before routing the messages;e) if several
`
`incoming messages should be received before sending out an outgoing message; f) if one
`
`incoming message shouldtrigger the sending of several outgoing messages; and thelike.
`
`Essentially, the message profile tells the server the who, what, when, where, and how to send
`
`outgoing messages. The user can, from his home,his office, his Palm Pilot, or any other location
`
`that is remote from the computer server, connect with the server via the user interface and
`
`reconfigure his message profile. In the preferred embodiment, the user interface is an Internet
`
`link which enables the user to access from a remote computer and create or edit his message
`
`profile. Passwords are providedso that a user’s profile can only be edited by the proper person
`
`(1.e., the user).
`
`An example of how the system is implementedis in the heating, ventilating, and cooling
`
`(HVAC)arts. Contractors and maintenance workers have to be able to monitor the equipment
`
`they are responsible for; however going aroundto all the boilers and air conditionersin their care
`
`just to check up on them is very time consuming. With the present system, sensorsare locally
`
`attached —on site— to the air conditioner, for example, which can detect whenspecific problems
`
`occur. In the preferred embodiment, an interface unit is connected —also on site— to the sensors.
`
`Whenthe sensors detect an abnormal condition —-such as a lack of fan blower speed even though
`
`the air conditioner should be working— they send a signal to the interface unit. Theinterface unit
`
`can remotely access, via a national wireless network, for example, the computerserverutilizing,
`
`13
`
`

`

`U.S. Appl’n No. 09/317,235
`Amendment
`
`for example, the handshaking portion of the cellular network. Thus, the interface unit and the
`
`computer server can be thousands of miles away andstill communicate effectively.
`
`The server receives the incoming message from the remote interface unit that the air
`
`conditioner’s fan is not operating. On the computeris stored a user-defined messageprofile,
`
`whichis like a laundry hist of message routing instructions such as “if X goes wrong,tell Mr. Y
`
`via his pager/fax machine/e-mail, etc.” For example, if the fan is not blowingin an air
`
`conditioner, there could be a blockage whichis physically preventing the fan blades from
`
`turning, or there could be an electrical short preventing current from flowing to the fan motor, or
`
`several other possible problems. A contractor could have his messageprofile set up to notify one
`
`of his crew by sending the crewman a message. Connected to the server are a numberof
`message output mechanismsthat can send a messageover a variety of different media as
`
`specified by the message profile. The crewman could get a beep or a messageonhis pager or
`
`could receive an e-mail for a lowerpriority problem. The contractor/supervisor could also
`
`receive a message so that he can check up onhis crew.
`
`Some messages require moreattention than others. For example,if the trouble with the
`
`air conditioner were so serious as to threaten the whole building, the crewman,the contractor,
`
`and the ownerof the building could be sent messages via their pagers. The contractor would be
`
`able to make the determination as to which problems require which messages and who should
`
`hear about it. The interface units also send out periodic “heartbeat” signals which let the server
`
`know that everything is okay. The server is designed to route messages from multiple pieces of
`
`equipment to multiple people in accordance with multiple messageprofiles. That is, a number of
`
`different contractors can use the system independently of each other.
`
`Wilsonet al. does not render obvious the claimed invention for several reasons. First,
`
`there is no teaching, suggestion, or even a hint in Wilson of enabling a user to remotely configure
`
`(edit, modify, create, etc.) a message profile on the computer server. The system of Fig. 12, for
`
`example, can send voice messagesor faxes out to a recipient (see col. 34, lines 6-15), butit
`
`cannotreceive instructions remotely from the intended message recipients. Morespecifically,
`
`14
`
`

`

`U.S. AppI’n No. 09/317,235
`Amendment
`
`Wilson does not permit a remote user to configure a message profile to specify where the
`
`outgoing messagesare to be sent. There is absolutely no remote user interface in Wilson as
`
`recited and set forth in the claims of the present application. Wilson does discuss enabling the
`
`user to configure the system for a particular application (see Abstract, cols. 9-11 generally and
`
`col. 10, line 67 and on,in particular), but not remotely. In this description, the user must be
`
`sitting downat the central PC 12 in order to effect any changes on the system whatsoever. Thus,
`
`in Wilson, the “user” is the person whois setting up the system. Thus, while the “user” can go to
`
`the central computer and configure the system, he cannot do it from home,the office, or in the
`
`field. Remote communication betweenuser and system is thus unidirectional, from the system to
`
`the user.
`
`In Applicant’s invention, by contrast, the user, as recited in the claims, is the person
`
`subscribingto the service, the person intended to receive the messages. He can log into the
`
`server via remote means, suchas the Internet, to configure his messageprofile to tell the
`
`computer server where to send what error messages to whom and under whatcircumstances.
`
`Remote communication between the subscriber/user and the system is thus bidirectional: from
`
`the system to the user when the system is sending an error message, and from the userto the
`
`system whentheuseris creating/editing the messageprofile (among other things). Also, in
`
`Wilson, only a computer programmercanalter or modify any instructions on the computer; by
`
`contrast, in Applicant’s invention, the end user, not the programmersetting the system up, can
`
`adjust the messageprofile without any knowledge of computer programming.
`
`Wilsonalso fails to teach or suggest the monitoring of remote equipment. All of the
`
`equipmentbeing monitored in Wilson is hardwired into the system and is monitoredlocally. All
`
`of the various systems in Wilson require the I/O bridge device 14 into which all of the monitored
`
`equipmentis directly wired. For example, Fig. 2 of Wilson showsan alarm system with smoke
`
`detectors 66 and 67 and burglar alarm loops 62 and 64. All of the devices are connected via
`
`wires to J/O bridge device 14 (see col. 9, lines 40-55). The equipment being monitoredis not
`
`remote equipment, as required by the present claims, but rather local equipment.
`
`15
`
`

`

`U.S. AppI’n No. 09/317,235
`Amendment
`
`Even the system shownin Fig. 12 of Wilson is only good for monitoring local equipment
`
`despite the presence of radio transceivers. As described in columns 33 and 34 of Wilson,Fig. 12
`
`represents an alarm system for a car dealership lot. Instead of using wires to connect the anti-
`
`theft devices to the base transceiver 700, each car is provided with an RF transmitter which can
`
`broadcast back to the main base. However, whatis described is a local RF network only. It is
`
`designed to cover the parking lot of an automobile dealer (see col. 34, lines 46-61), or a range of
`
`maybea few thousand feet. Applicant’s invention can monitor equipmentthat is truly remote,
`
`and it can be used overthe entire world, becauseof: a) the ability of the remote interface units to
`
`contact the central server remotely; b) the ability of the central server to contact the message
`
`recipient remotely via any format of communication device, and c) the ability of the
`
`user/subscriber to contact the server and configure his messageprofile remotely.
`
`Finally, Wilson fails to teach that multiple subscribers can utilize the system
`
`simultaneously. The inventive system can store multiple message profiles of multiple
`
`subscribers and route the messages from each person’s equipmentto that person in accordance
`
`with his messageprofile. By contrast, Wilson is silent as to accommodating multiple users.
`
`In view of the foregoing, Applicants respectfully submit that Claims 1-5, 9-12, 15, 17-21,
`
`and 26-52 recite patentable subject matter and that the application is in condition for allowance.
`
`The Examineris invited to telephone the undersigned to discuss any further changes that might
`
`be deemed necessary. Prompt and favorable action toward the issuanceofa patent is earnestly
`
`solicited and believed to be fully warranted.
`
`16
`
`

`

`o
`
`é
`
`U.S. AppI’n No. 09/317,235
`Amendment
`
`Applicant hereby petitions for any extension of time which may be required to maintain
`
`the pendencyofthis case, and any additional required fee, except for the Issue Fee, for such
`
`extension is to be charged to Deposit Account No. 02-2105.
`
`Date: May 17, 2000
`
`Respectfully submitted,
`
`Levisohn, Lerner, Berger & Langsam
`757 Third Avenue, Suite 2400
`New York, New York 10017
`(212) 486-7272
`
`FAARCHIVE\Barry\WPDOCS\PROSEC\1216-34.115.wpd
`
`
`Barry £% Negrin
`
`
`Reg.
`No.: 37,407
`Attorney for Applicant
`
`17
`
`