DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Status of the Claims
This Office Action is in response to the Applicants’ filing on 06/10/2026. Claims 14-20, 22, and 25 were previously pending, of which claims 14 and 25 have been amended, claim 15 has been cancelled, and no claims have been newly added. Accordingly, claims 14, 16-20, 22, and 25 are currently pending and are being examined below.
Response to Arguments
With respect to Applicant's remarks, see pages 6-10, filed 06/10/2026; Applicant’s “Amendment and Remarks” have been fully considered. Applicant’s remarks will be addressed in sequential order as they were presented.
With respect to the claim rejections under 35 U.S.C. § 112(b), the amendment renders this rejection moot, the amended claims are no longer rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 112(b).
With respect to the claim rejections under 35 U.S.C. § 103, applicant’s “Amendment and Remarks” have been fully considered and are persuasive. The prior art of record does not appear to disclose the exchange of component data not requiring related component data to be modified, as amended in claim 1. However, due to the nature of the applicant’s amendments, the scope of the applicant’s invention has changed and thus requires new analysis and new application of prior art and further search found that Talkhestani did disclose this limitation, as mapped in the final office action below.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
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.
Claims 14, 16-20, 22, and 25 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cattone (US 2016/0189440 A1), hereinafter Cattone, in view of Talkhestani et al. (Consistency check to synchronize the Digital Twin of manufacturing automation based on anchor points) and Hershey et al. (US 2017/0286572 A1), hereinafter Hershey.
With respect to claims 14 and 25, Cattone discloses a machine-readable medium (1322) storing instructions, when executed by a processor (1302), cause the processor to: perform a method comprising: based on physically removing an existing component from a passenger transport system and replacing the existing component with a replacement component, replacing, in a (see at least Fig. 3B-3C, [0094-0095] “the mobile device 112 may receive characterization information 312 for a part 106 that signals a replacement of the part. Responsive to receiving the characterization information 312, the mobile device 112 may purge… and create an entry of part description information 304 in the vehicle information 300 for the part 106 that is new.”)
retrieving the component model dataset module associated with the replacement component from a data storage unit physically attached to the replacement component or from a remotely located computer storage device based on a unique identification of the replacement component, (see at least [0091] “The wireless reader 206 may be attached to the mobile device 112 to receive the characterization information from the smart components 102.” [0093-0095] “an entry of part description information 304 may be automatically stored in the vehicle information 300 responsive to receiving characterization information for a part 106 for the first time from the vehicle 104. The part description information 304 may include a part identifier 306”)
and replacing the component model dataset module associated with the existing component with the component model dataset module associated with the replacement component to the digital double dataset, in an at least partially automated manner; (see at least [0094-0095] “the mobile device 112 may receive characterization information 312 for a part 106 that signals a replacement of the part… the mobile device 112 may purge an entry of part description information 304 for the part 106 that is being replaced from the vehicle information 300and create an entry of part description information 304 in the vehicle information 300 for the part 106 that is new.”)
wherein the (see at least Fig. 3B, [0093] “The vehicle information 300 may include vehicle identification information 302 that identifies a vehicle 104 and one or more entries of part description information 304 that describes part(s) 106… Each entry of part description information 304 corresponds to a part 106.”)
wherein each of these component dataset modules respectively describes component data concerning physical properties of one of the components in the passenger transport system, (see at least Fig. 3C, [0095-0096] “an entry of part description information 304 in the vehicle information 300 for the part 106 that is new. The maintenance history information 316 may store… a percentage wear of the part 106 replaced (e.g., 80% wear)… The service level information 318 may store the current service level for the part 106… warn the user that the current part 106 is in need of repair.”)
Cattone discloses estimating required replacement of a vehicle component using data modules that are replaced when the new part is replaced, but does not explicitly disclose the use of a stored digital double to determine the required replacement.
However, Talkhestani teaches the use of a digital twin diagnostic system wherein each component dataset module comprises component unit data concerning physical properties of the component itself, as well as interface data concerning physical properties that describe a cooperation of the component with other components, wherein the component dataset modules are virtually connected to one another by the interface data to represent the passenger transport system, (see at least Fig. 3: A shell for encapsulating the information and anchor points of a mechatronic component. [p. 161] “different domain databases with different structures belonging to the same mechatronic component can then be joined together… semantically references and stores data of domain-specific models” [p. 162] “a shell of a mechatronic component can also include other data and information relevant to it during its entire lifecycle” [section 4.1-4.2] “if a new sensor is added to the conveyor, not only its related 3D-geometriy, electric circuit as well as its PLC function block should be considered, but also the relations this added component has to other components… software anchor points of the changed, removed or added mechatronic component are detected.”)
and wherein replacing the component model dataset module associated with the existing component with the component model dataset module associated with the replacement component is performed without having to modify other component dataset modules in the digital double dataset, (see at least [p. 162, section 4] “Using this analysis, relations of mechatronic components in different models in the corresponding tools can be kept consistent… if a new sensor is added to the conveyor, not only its related 3D-geometriy, electric circuit as well as its PLC function block should be considered, but also the relations this added component has to other components” Note: As supported in the figures and description the anchor point domains are used as a type of map to connect the various shells of the components by confirming the connecting points the shells may be replaced without the requirement of changing the related component shells.)
As both pertain to system monitoring using virtual components, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the component replacement determination based on a current status of the smart component of Cattone to include the digital twin with component replacement disclosed in Talkhestani, with reasonable expectation of success. The motivation for doing so would have been to provide a fast inexpensive reconfiguration of existing systems and use a digital twin to reduce errors with a cross-domain simulation, see Talkhestani [Abstract].
Additionally, Hershey teaches the use of a digital twin diagnostic system wherein the digital double data set is digitally stored in a computer system or on a machine-readable medium. (see at least [0049] “The digital twin of twinned physical system 150 may store information into and/or retrieve information from various data sources, such as the computer data store 110”)
As both pertain to component health and replacement, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the component replacement determination based on a current status of the smart component of Cattone to include the digital twin component life prediction disclosed in Hershey, with reasonable expectation of success. The motivation for doing so would have been to provide an answer in a time frame that is useful, that is, meaningfully prior to a projected occurrence of a failure event or suboptimal operation, see Hershey [0037].
With respect to claim 16, Cattone discloses estimating required replacement of a vehicle component using data modules that are replaced when the new part is replaced, but does not explicitly disclose the installation type.
However, Hershey teaches the component data concerning physical properties of the replacement component also comprises installation data that is affected by the type of installation of the replacement component in the passenger transport system. ([0068] “Finally, the installation 630 of the system components may alter their expected RUL if the installation suffers misadventure such as, for example, rough handling, incorrect mounting, and/or excessive torque.”)
As both pertain to component health and replacement, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the component replacement determination of Cattone to include the interaction of the components disclosed in Hershey, with reasonable expectation of success. The motivation for doing so would have been to alter their expected remaining useful life if the installation suffers misadventure, see Hershey [0068].
With respect to claim 17, Cattone discloses estimating required replacement of a vehicle component using data modules that are replaced when the new part is replaced, but does not explicitly disclose the installation force data consideration.
However, Hershey teaches the installation data comprises forces and/or torques that were applied for fixing the replacement component in the passenger transport system during the replacement of the component. ([0068] “One embodiment for guiding and monitoring the installation process (and collecting the information respecting any installation mishandling) is to provide an installer with a computer-instructed “wizard” with sensors attached to the installation tools and system components.”)
As both pertain to component health and replacement, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the component replacement determination of Cattone to include the interaction of the components disclosed in Hershey, with reasonable expectation of success. The motivation for doing so would have been to alter their expected remaining useful life if the installation suffers misadventure, see Hershey [0068].
With respect to claim 18, Cattone discloses estimating required replacement of a vehicle component using data modules that are replaced when the new part is replaced, but does not explicitly disclose the installation force data consideration.
However, Hershey teaches the installation data is automatically acquired by a tool used for the installation and transmitted in an automated manner to the digital double dataset. ([0068] “One embodiment for guiding and monitoring the installation process (and collecting the information respecting any installation mishandling) is to provide an installer with a computer-instructed “wizard” with sensors attached to the installation tools and system components. The collected installation information may also be subsequently entered into the digital twin process.”)
As both pertain to component health and replacement, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the component replacement determination of Cattone to include the installation disclosed in Hershey, with reasonable expectation of success. The motivation for doing so would have been to alter their expected remaining useful life if the installation suffers misadventure, see Hershey [0068].
With respect to claim 19, Cattone discloses the component data concerning a replacement component is stored in a data storage unit provided on the replacement component and transmitted in an automated manner to the computer, storing the digital double dataset. (see at least [0086] “Broadly, the smart component 102 may utilize the sensor 108 to sense the part 106 to receive information (e.g., a sense of the part) that is utilized by the smart component 102 to generate characterization information and communicate the characterization information”)
With respect to claim 20, Cattone discloses a unique identification is provided on the component and the component data concerning the replacement component is stored in a data storage unit that is arranged remotely from the component, and wherein the component data concerning the replacement component is transmitted from the data storage unit to the digital double dataset in an automated manner by transmitting the identification. (see at least [0094] “A particular part type identifier 308 may be associated with one or more part identifiers 306. The part log information 310 may include one or more entries of characterization information 312 for the part 106.” [0097] “the test may generate characterization information 312 that includes a part identifier 306 that, in turn, is compared with OEM tracking information stored at the network-based marketplace 118”)
With respect to claim 22, Cattone discloses estimating required replacement of a vehicle component using data modules that are replaced when the new part is replaced, but does not explicitly disclose the installation force data consideration.
However, Hershey teaches actual data concerning currently prevailing physical properties of the passenger transport system is acquired during the method and associated data in the digital double dataset is replaced with the actual data. ([0037] “The digital twin may comprise a real time efficiency and life consumption state estimation device.”)
As both pertain to component health and replacement, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the component replacement determination of Cattone to include the simulated and real time data disclosed in Hershey, with reasonable expectation of success. The motivation for doing so would have been to provide an adaptable digital twin that may detect when unexpected operating scenarios are experienced by a real physical system and then change an underlying system of equations., see Hershey [0126].
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any extension fee pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SHELLEY MARIE OSTERHOUT whose telephone number is (703)756-1595. The examiner can normally be reached Mon to Fri 8:30 AM - 5:30 PM.
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/S.M.O./Examiner, Art Unit 3669
/NAVID Z. MEHDIZADEH/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3669
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