DUKE MANUFACTURING CO.Download PDFPatent Trials and Appeals BoardDec 22, 20212020005464 (P.T.A.B. Dec. 22, 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. 15/055,346 02/26/2016 Canyon DeVille DKE 9898.US 1049 321 7590 12/22/2021 STINSON LLP 7700 FORSYTH BOULEVARD, SUITE 1100 ST LOUIS, MO 63105 EXAMINER YOON, ERIC ART UNIT PAPER NUMBER 2143 NOTIFICATION DATE DELIVERY MODE 12/22/2021 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): stl.uspatents@stinson.com PTOL-90A (Rev. 04/07) UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE BEFORE THE PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD Ex parte CANYON DEVILLE, JOSHUA LEE LOY, ORD LIEF DELANEY, NORMAN J. BERNARD, and ANTHONY HORTON Appeal 2020-005464 Application 15/055,346 Technology Center 2100 Before MARC S. HOFF, JOHN A. EVANS, and JOYCE CRAIG, Administrative Patent Judges. CRAIG, 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 25–36 and 38–54, which are all of the pending claims. Claims 1–24 and 37 have been cancelled. Final Act. 2. We have jurisdiction under 35 U.S.C. § 6(b). We AFFIRM IN PART. 1 We use the word “Appellant” to refer to “applicant” as defined in 37 C.F.R. § 1.42(a) (2019). Appellant identifies Duke Manufacturing Co. as the real party in interest. Appeal Br. 1. Appeal 2020-005464 Application 15/055,346 2 CLAIMED SUBJECT MATTER The claims are directed to systems and methods for managing food in food preparation establishments such as restaurants. See Spec. ¶ 2. Claim 25, reproduced below, illustrates the claimed subject matter: 25. A food management system for managing food in a food holding apparatus having a plurality of holding locations, the food management system including: a food management controller configured for monitoring a status of the plurality of holding locations, a user interface including a plurality of holding location displays associated with respective holding locations for displaying information associated with the holding locations, the holding location displays being arranged in an array corresponding to an arrangement of the respective holding locations, the holding location displays being positioned in the array corresponding to positions of the respective holding locations in the arrangement, each holding location display including a touch sensitive area defining a button that can be actuated by at least a first type of user engagement with the button, a non-transitory tangible storage medium having food management controller executable instructions stored therein, said instructions, when executed by the food management controller, displaying on each holding location display current status of operation information representing a current status of operation of the respective holding location, the tangible storage medium storing food management controller executable instructions to execute a first operation when a first current status of operation is displayed on the holding location display and the button is actuated by the first type of user engagement, and to execute a second operation different than the first operation when a second current status of operation is displayed on the holding location display and the button is actuated by the first type of user engagement, whether the first or second operation is executed being based on the corresponding first or second status of operation displayed on the holding location Appeal 2020-005464 Application 15/055,346 3 display when the button is actuated by the first type of user engagement, wherein the holding location display displays the current status of operation information representative of the current status of operation of the holding location in the touch sensitive area of the holding location display defining the button. Appeal Br. 26 (Claims App.). REFERENCES The prior art relied upon by the Examiner is: Name Reference Date Vaseloff et al. (“Vaseloff”) US 2004/0056761 A1 Mar. 25, 2004 Clark et al. (“Clark”) US 2010/0138007 A1 June 3, 2010 Celebisoy US 2012/0260217 A1 Oct. 11, 2012 REJECTIONS Claims 25–36, 38–44, 53, and 54 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) as unpatentable over the combination of Vaseloff and Clark. Final Act. 3–14. Claims 45–50 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) as unpatentable over Vaseloff. Final Act. 14–20. Claims 51 and 52 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as unpatentable over the combination of Vaseloff and Celebisoy. Final Act. 20– 21. OPINION Claims 25, 26, 28–33, 35, 36, 38–40, 43, and 54 Appellant argues claims 25, 26, 28–33, 35, 36, 38–40, 43, and 54 as a group. Appeal Br. 6. We select claim 25 as representative of the group, with Appeal 2020-005464 Application 15/055,346 4 claims 26, 28–33, 35, 36, 38–40, 43, and 542 standing or falling with claim 25. 37 C.F.R. § 41.37(c)(1)(iv). On this record, we see no error in the Examiner’s combination of and reliance on the cited references for collectively teaching or suggesting the elements recited in claim 25. We adopt as our own the findings set forth by the Examiner in the Final Rejection and Answer with regard to claims 25, 26, 28–33, 35, 36, 38–40, 43, and 54. See Final Act. 3–14; Ans. 4–10. The Examiner found that Vaseloff teaches all of the recited limitations of claim 25 except “wherein the holding location display displays the current status of operation information representative of the current status of operation of the holding location in the touch sensitive area of the holding location display defining the button,” for which the Examiner relied on Clark. Final Act. 3–14. Appellant argues that the combination of Vaseloff and Clark is improper and involves impermissible hindsight because the Examiner “fails to provide a proper reason why one having ordinary skill in the art would have combined Vaseloff and Clark.” Appeal Br. 10. Appellant argues that the Examiner’s reasoning is circular, “saying it would be obvious to incorporate status information in a button in order to show the status information in the button.” Id. Appellant further argues that the Examiner’s explanation—that modifying the food holding device of Vaseloff in view of Clark is a simple substitution of one known element for another to obtain predictable results and the use of known techniques to improve similar 2 We address Appellant’s arguments for dependent claims 27, 29, 34, 41, and 42 separately below. See Appeal Br. 16–18. We reverse the Examiner’s rejection of claim 53, which depends from independent claim 45, discussed below. Appeal 2020-005464 Application 15/055,346 5 devices in the same way—involves “no more than overly broad general statements that fail to support a conclusion of obviousness because they fail to provide a reason why one skilled in the art would have specifically modified Vaseloff in the way proposed by the Examiner.” Id. at 12. We are not persuaded that the Examiner erred in combining the cited teachings of Vaseloff and Clark. The Examiner set forth articulated reasoning with rational underpinnings for the combination. Final Act. 6; Ans. 7–8. When considering obviousness of a combination of known elements, the question is “whether the improvement is more than the predictable use of prior-art elements according to their established functions.” KSR Int’l Co. v. Teleflex Inc., 550 U.S. 398, 417 (2007). In this case, Appellant does not persuade us that the Examiner’s proposed combination of Vaseloff’s user interface with Clark’s teaching that it is known to place operational information inside a button provides anything other than the predictable, expected result. Moreover, Appellant’s hindsight argument fails because Appellant has not identified any knowledge relied upon by the Examiner that was gleaned only from Appellant’s disclosure and that was not otherwise within the level of ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention. See In re McLaughlin, 443 F.2d 1392, 1395 (CCPA 1971). Appellant also has not provided objective evidence of secondary considerations, which “operates as a beneficial check on hindsight.” Cheese Sys., Inc. v. Tetra Pak Cheese and Powder Sys., Inc., 725 F.3d 1341, 1352 (Fed. Cir. 2013). For these reasons, we are not persuaded that the Examiner erred in combining the cited teachings of Vaseloff and Clark. Appeal 2020-005464 Application 15/055,346 6 Next, Appellant argues that the Examiner erred in finding that the combination of Vaseloff and Clark teaches the “current status of operation information” limitation, as recited in claim 25. See Appeal Br. 12–16. Appellant contends the “current status of operation information” limitation is limited to information “relating to the physical condition or state the holding location is presently or currently in.” Id. at 15. Appellant argues that the buttons depicted in Figure 8B of Clark, cited by the Examiner, do not show current status of operation information but rather “information about what scene control settings are being programmed by a user for later use when the user presses another button” to trigger the scene. Id. at 14. Appellant’s arguments are not persuasive of Examiner error because they attack Clark individually, even though the Examiner relied on the combination of Vaseloff and Clark in rejecting claim 25. In re Mouttet, 686 F.3d 1322, 1333 (Fed. Cir. 2012) (“[T]he test for obviousness is what the combined teachings of the references would have suggested to those having ordinary skill in the art.” (citing In re Keller, 642 F.2d 413, 425 (CCPA 1981))). The Examiner found that Vaseloff teaches displaying “current status of operation information” similar to what is described in Appellant’s Specification, e.g., holding times for food in compartment, food has expired, timing in progress, food compartment not operating, etc. Ans. 8 (citing Vaseloff ¶¶ 21, 24, 34, Table 1). The Examiner further found that Clark teaches displaying information in the touch sensitive area of a display defining a button. See Final Act. 6 (citing Clark, Fig. 7A, 8B, ¶¶ 44, 48); Ans. 5–9. Thus, Appellant has not persuasively rebutted the Examiner’s finding that Clark in combination with Vaseloff at least suggests “wherein the holding location display displays the current status of operation Appeal 2020-005464 Application 15/055,346 7 information representative of the current status of operation of the holding location in the touch sensitive area of the holding location display defining the button,” as recited in claim 25. Because Appellant has not addressed what the combined teachings of Vaseloff and Clark would have suggested to an artisan of ordinary skill, Appellant’s arguments are not commensurate in scope with the Examiner’s rejection. We also note that Appellant attempts to distinguish the recited system from the prior art based on the information content displayed in the touch sensitive area of the holding location display defining the button. See Appeal Br. 12–14. On this claim construction issue, we are bound by the Board’s precedential decision in Ex parte Nehls, 88 USPQ2d 1883, 1889 (BPAI 2008) (precedential) (“[T]he nature of the information being manipulated does not lend patentability to an otherwise unpatentable computer- implemented product or process.”). In Nehls (88 USPQ2d at 1888), the Board held that the nature of the information being manipulated by a computer should not be given patentable weight absent evidence that such information is functionally related to the process “by changing the efficiency or accuracy or any other characteristic” of the steps. See Ex parte Curry, 84 USPQ2d 1272, 1274 (BPAI 2005) (informative) aff’d, No. 2006-1003 (Fed. Cir. June 12, 2006) (Rule 36) (holding “wellness-related” data stored in a database and communicated over a network was non-functional descriptive material as claimed because the data “does not functionally change” the system). In claim 25, the particular content of the information displayed in the touch sensitive area of the holding location display defining the button does not affect any step or alter the structure of the claimed food management Appeal 2020-005464 Application 15/055,346 8 system. Therefore, the content of the displayed information is nonfunctional descriptive material that does not distinguish the claim from the prior art in terms of patentability. See In re Ngai, 367 F.3d 1336, 1339 (Fed. Cir. 2004). See also Ex parte Mathias, 84 USPQ2d 1276, 1279 (BPAI 2005) (informative), aff’d, 191 F. App’x 959 (Fed. Cir. 2006) (“[N]onfunctional descriptive material cannot lend patentability to an invention that would have otherwise been taught by the prior art.”); Curry, 84 USPQ2d at 1274 (“Nonfunctional descriptive material cannot render nonobvious an invention that would have otherwise been obvious.”). As explained in In re Lowry, we need not give patentable weight to descriptive material absent a new and unobvious functional relationship between the descriptive material and the substrate. See In re Lowry, 32 F.3d 1579, 1582-83 (Fed. Cir. 1994) (discussing In re Gulack, 703 F.2d 1381, 1385 (Fed. Cir. 1983)); see also King Pharm., Inc. v. Eon Labs, Inc., 616 F.3d 1267, 1279 (Fed. Cir. 2010) (“[T]he relevant question is whether ‘there exists any new and unobvious functional relationship between the printed matter and the substrate.”’) (citations omitted). Equivalently, material is printed matter if it is “claimed for what it communicates.” In re Distefano, 808 F.3d 845, 850 (Fed. Cir. 2015). The disputed limitation of claim 25 (the current status of operation information) merely characterizes the specific content of the information displayed on the button. Thus, the disputed claim limitation is directed to printed matter. See id. at 848 (A claim limitation is directed to printed matter “if it claims the content of information.”). If a claim in a patent application recites printed matter, “one must then determine if the matter is functionally or structurally related to the associated Appeal 2020-005464 Application 15/055,346 9 physical substrate, and only if the answer is ‘no’ is the printed matter owed no patentable weight.” Distefano, 808 F.3d at 851. In the instant claim, the particular content of the displayed information is not specifically related to the structure of the displayed information, or explicitly used in the claim, such as by the food management system, to perform any specific function. Rather, the content of the information is not functionally distinct from any other information that is displayed. Accordingly, we find the disputed claim limitation constitutes nonfunctional descriptive material and printed matter not functionally related to the associated substrate, and is not entitled to patentable weight. Appellant’s arguments are not, therefore, commensurate in scope with claim 25. For these reasons, we are not persuaded that the Examiner erred in finding that the combination of Vaseloff and Clark teaches or suggests the disputed limitation of claim 25. Accordingly, we sustain the Examiner’s obviousness rejection of independent claim 25 and grouped claims 26, 28–33, 35, 36, 38–40, 43, and 54. Claim 27 Claim 27 depends from claim 25 and further recites “wherein the first operation executed by the first engagement is the food management controller recording in the non-transitory tangible storage medium an amount of food as being held at the respective holding location.” Appeal Br. 27 (Claims App.). In addition to the arguments made for independent claim 25, discussed above, Appellant argues that the Examiner erred in rejecting Appeal 2020-005464 Application 15/055,346 10 dependent claim 27 because the cited paragraphs of Vaseloff do not teach or suggest “recording an amount of food as being held at the respective holding location.” Appeal Br. 16. We are not persuaded that the Examiner erred. Appellant’s argument is conclusory, merely reciting the claim limitation, the teachings of Vaseloff, and stating that the two are not the same. Id. Rule 41.37 “require[s] more substantive arguments in an appeal brief than a mere recitation of the claim elements and a naked assertion that the corresponding elements were not found in the prior art.” In re Lovin, 652 F.3d 1349, 1357 (Fed. Cir. 2011). The Examiner found that Vaseloff teaches that when the user activates the timer, it indicates to the system that some amount of food has been moved to a previously empty compartment, i.e., the system designates a food compartment as having received some amount of food, and that such a designation would be stored in memory. Ans. 11 (citing Vaseloff ¶¶ 24, 26, 35, Table 1). The Examiner concluded that claim 27 does not require that the claimed “amount” be quantified or measured. Id. Appellant has not persuasively rebutted the Examiner’s findings or persuaded us that the Examiner’s interpretation of the term “amount” is overly broad, unreasonable, or inconsistent with the Specification. Accordingly, on the record before us, we sustain the Examiner’s obviousness rejection of dependent claim 27. Claim 29 Claim 29 depends from claims 25 and 28 and further recites “wherein the second operation executed by the first engagement is the food management processor transferring association of an amount of food held at Appeal 2020-005464 Application 15/055,346 11 the holding location to a different holding location.” Appeal Br. 27 (Claims App.). In addition to the arguments made for claims 25 and 27, discussed above, Appellant argues that “Vaseloff does not teach that the timer button 64 (the button that is associated with each display 60) is used to transfer an amount of food between holding locations,” but instead “discloses that a button 90 or 82, which is separate from the timer button 64, is used to transfer active timers between displays 60.” Id. at 16 (citing Vaseloff ¶ 35). We are not persuaded that the Examiner erred because Appellant’s argument is not commensurate with the scope of claim 29, which requires “the food management processor transferring association of an amount of food held at the holding location to a different holding location.” Appeal Br. 27 (Claims App.) (emphasis added). Claim 29 does not require “transfer [of] an amount of food between holding locations,” as Appellant contends. See Ans. 12; Appeal Br. 16. Moreover, Appellant has not persuasively rebutted the Examiner’s findings that Vaseloff teaches that a user can transfer food from one compartment to another, and the interface of the Vaseloff system indicates compartments that have some amount of food suitable for transfer. Ans. 12 (citing Vaseloff ¶ 35). Nor has Appellant persuasively rebutted the Examiner’s finding that Vaseloff teaches that the user can designate an origin for the transfer by deactivating a corresponding timer for the selected origin compartment e.g., by pressing the timer button. Id. (citing Vaseloff ¶ 24). The Examiner concluded that the claim term “association” encompasses anything associated with some amount of food and, in the context of Vaseloff, the timing information is associated with some amount Appeal 2020-005464 Application 15/055,346 12 of food in the origin compartment to be transferred to a destination compartment, so that the timing can continue at the new destination. Id. For these reasons, we sustain the Examiner’s obviousness rejection of dependent claim 29. Claim 34 Claim 34 depends from claims 25 and 33 and further recites “wherein the third displayed current status of operation represents an expired hold time associated with the respective holding location.” Appeal Br. 28 (Claims App.). Parent claim 33 recites “executing a third operation in response to the first type of user engagement with the button when a third current status of operation is displayed on the holding location display.” Id. at 27. Parent claim 25 recites “execute a first operation when a first current status of operation is displayed ... and the button is actuated by the first type of user engagement, and to execute a second operation different than the first operation when a second current status of operation is displayed.” Id. at 26. Appellant argues that the Examiner erred in finding that timer button 64 in Vaseloff “has a different, third function.” Appeal Br. 17. Appellant argues that Vaseloff teaches that timer button 64 can either activate or deactivate the timer, but there is no teaching that the function of the timer button 64 changes when the timer status indicator 62 is flashing red, as claim 34 requires. Id. We are not persuaded that the Examiner erred. The plain language of claim 34 does not require that a timer status indicator “is flashing red,” as Appellant asserts. Thus Appellant’s argument is not commensurate with the scope of claim 34. Appeal 2020-005464 Application 15/055,346 13 Moreover, the Examiner concluded that the plain language of the claims does not require doing more than activating or deactivating a timer. Ans. 13. The Examiner interpreted a “third operation,” as recited in claim 33, as broad enough to include a distinct operation that is similar in function or type to other operations, but is different in terms of the time or context in which it occurs. Id. Appellant has not persuasively argued that the Examiner’s interpretation of “third operation” is overly broad, unreasonable, or inconsistent with Appellant’s Specification. See Reply Br. 7. Additionally, the Examiner found that Vaseloff teaches pressing a timer button to activate an inactive timer for a compartment, as well as pressing a timer button to deactivate an active timer. Ans. 13 (citing Vaseloff, Figs. 3–6, ¶¶ 24, 26, 35, Table 1). The Examiner also found, however, that Vaseloff teaches an embodiment in which a user wishes to transfer food from one compartment to another, in which the system displays a mode in which the compartments with active timers are highlighted. Id. at 14 (citing Vaseloff ¶ 35) The Examiner found that Vaseloff teaches that pressing the timer button in the context of the transfer mode not only deactivates the timer for the compartment, but also prepares for the transfer of the remaining time in the deactivated timer to another compartment, so that the timer can restart from where it left off at the new location. Id. (citing Vaseloff ¶ 26). Thus, the Examiner found that Vaseloff teaches a “third operation,” which takes place in the context of a third, displayed “status of operation.” Id. Appellant has not persuasively rebutted the Examiner’s findings. See Reply Br. 7. For these reasons, we sustain the Examiner’s obviousness rejection of dependent claim 34. Appeal 2020-005464 Application 15/055,346 14 Claim 41 Claim 41 depends from claim 25. Appellant presents the same argument with regard to claim 41 that Appellant made for dependent claim 27—that Vaseloff does not teach or suggest indicating an amount of food held in each holding compartment. Appeal Br. 17–18. For the reasons set forth above in the context of claim 27, we are not persuaded that the Examiner erred in finding that the combination of Vaseloff and Clark teaches or suggests the disputed “amount” limitation. Accordingly, we sustain the Examiner’s obviousness rejection of dependent claim 41. Claim 42 Claim 42 depends from claim 25 and further recites “wherein the holding location display displays only current status of operation information representative of the current status of operation of the holding location in the touch sensitive area of the holding location display defining the button.” Appeal Br. 29 (Claims App.). Appellant argues that claim 42 is not of the same scope as claim 25, and the Examiner has not shown where the prior art teaches only current status of operation information is displayed in the touch sensitive area defining the button. Appeal Br. 18. Appellant again presents the same argument that Appellant made for claim 25—that the buttons in Fig. 8B of Clark do not show “current status of operation information.” See Appeal Br. 13, 16–17. For the reasons discussed above in the context of claim 25, we are not persuaded that the Examiner erred. Moreover, the Examiner found that Clark teaches a button for controlling a wall light that displays only “current status Appeal 2020-005464 Application 15/055,346 15 of operation information,” as claim 42 requires. Ans. 15–16 (citing Clark Fig. 8B, ¶ 48). Appellant has not persuasively rebutted the Examiner’s findings. See Reply Br. 7. For these reasons, we sustain the Examiner’s obviousness rejection of dependent claim 42. Claim 44 Appellant presents the same arguments with regard to independent claim 44 that Appellant made for independent claim 25. Appeal Br. 18. For the reasons set forth above in the context of claim 25, we are not persuaded that the Examiner erred in finding that the combination of Vaseloff and Clark teaches or suggests the disputed limitations of claim 25, or that the Examiner erred in combining the cited teachings of Vaseloff and Clark. Accordingly, we sustain the Examiner’s obviousness rejection of claim 44. Claims 45–53 Appellant argues that the Examiner erred in rejecting independent claim 45 as obvious over Vaseloff. Appeal Br. 22. In particular, Appellant argues that Vaseloff does not teach or suggest a “second type of user engagement,” as recited in claim 45. Id. Appellant argues that the Examiner took the unreasonable position that pressing the timer button of Vaseloff at different times is equivalent to the claimed different types of user engagement. Id. (citing Final Act. 18, 25). Appellant has persuaded us that the Examiner erred. The Examiner’s interpretation that the term “type of user engagement” refers to any manner in which the button is engaged e.g., at a different time, under a different Appeal 2020-005464 Application 15/055,346 16 condition/mode, etc. (Ans. 19) is not consistent with Appellant’s claims and Specification. We agree with Appellant that the claims and Specification describe that the limitation “type of user engagement” refers to the manner or way in which the user actuates a button, not the time at which the button is actuated. See id. For example, claims 49, 51 and 52, which depend from claim 45, describe that the first type of user engagement can be either a sustained press or a tap and that the second type of user engagement can be a sustained press. Id. at 22–23. Moreover, the Specification describes different types of user engagement, such as quickly tapping, long holding, sustained pressing and dragging, multiple taps, multiple sustained presses, and/or swipes. Id. (citing Spec. ¶¶ 25, 35). The Specification further describes that the buttons of the holding location displays “may be actuated by different types of user engagement with the buttons, such as . . . by briefly tapping the button to bring up a prompt window . . . or by making a sustained press of the button to execute certain functions with or without bringing up a prompt window.” Id. (citing Spec. ¶ 36). On the record before us, the Examiner’s finding that Vaseloff teaches execut[ing] an operation different than the first operation when the first current status of operation is displayed on the holding location display and the button is actuated by the second type of user engagement, whether the first operation or said operation is different than the first operation is executed when the first current status of operation is displayed being based on the corresponding first or second type of user engagement used to actuate the button is in error. See Ans. 20. Accordingly, on this record, we reverse the Examiner’s obviousness rejection of independent claim 45, as well as dependent claims 46–53, which depend thereon. Appeal 2020-005464 Application 15/055,346 17 CONCLUSION We affirm the Examiner’s § 103(a) rejections of claims 25–36, 38–44, and 54. We reverse the Examiner’s § 103(a) rejections of claims 45–53. DECISION SUMMARY In summary: Claims Rejected 35 U.S.C. § Reference(s)/Basis Affirmed Reversed 25–36, 38–44, 53, 54 103(a) Vaseloff, Clark 25–36, 38–44, 54 53 45–50 103(a) Vaseloff 45–50 51, 52 103(a) Vaseloff, Celebisoy 51, 52 Overall Outcome 25–36, 38–44, 54 45–53 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 IN PART Copy with citationCopy as parenthetical citation