DETAILED ACTION
This final rejection is responsive to the RCE filed 20 August 2025. Claims 1 and 3-8 are pending. Claim 1 is an independent claim. Claims 1 is amended. However, no substantive amendments have been entered. The Examiner is maintaining the grounds of rejection presented in the Final Office action mailed 21 May 2025; thus, this action is marked as final.
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 .
Response to Remarks
No Remarks have been filed. Examiner maintains the same Response to Remarks as provided in the Advisory Action (03 September 2025).
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 1 and 3-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Maturana (US 2018/0063244 A1) hereinafter known as Maturana in view of Asenjo (US 2017/0255723 A1) hereinafter known as Asenjo in view of Sturrock (US 2009/0089234 A1) hereinafter known as Sturrock.
Regarding independent claim 1, Maturana teaches:
An Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) agent device having an internet interface connected IIoT cloud platform over the internet, the IIoT agent device comprising: a processor, when a computer-executable program is executed, functioning as: internet modules configured to communicate with internet devices, IIoT cloud and human-machine interface (HMI) devices through various internet protocols over the internet; driver modules configured to communicate with field bus devices, programmable logic controller (PLC), equipment and automated system through various industrial protocols; core modules configured to perform data switching, processing and manipulation; ... wherein the IIoT agent device is operatively coupled and in communication with the IIoT cloud platform, the processor is configured to cause the IIoT agent device to perform a supervisory control and data acquisition operation and exchange data and command automatically or in response to an input from the IIoT cloud platform; (Maturana: Fig. 1 and ¶[0040]-¶[0041] and ¶[0047]; Maturana teaches cloud agents that ease the creation of industrial internet of things, which function to controls instructions to industrial devices based on analysis of real-time system data. Further, ¶[0049] further teaches HTTPS, which teaches the internet protocol. ¶[0050] teaches using a common industrial protocol which teaches the driver module function. Further, ¶[0068] teaches using registers for data source storage. Fig. 16 and ¶[0095]-¶[0103] further teach communication with PLCs and equipment.)
…
…
...
An embodiment of Maturana does not explicitly teach:
wherein all production details, settings, or parameters, including process logic, control methodology, product recipe, and data point setup, are dynamically changed based on a decision, input, or command of the IIoT cloud platform, such that the IIoT cloud platform completely re-configures or re-programs a software portion of the IIoT agent device governing its working behavior or characteristics by sending a reconfiguration / reprogramming information or message;
wherein the reconfiguration / reprogramming information is equivalent to the configuration of the IhoT agent device,
wherein the processor is configured to cause the IIoT agent device to be disabled, idle or inactivated during initial startup or operation, until the IIoT cloud platform performs initial configuration or reconfiguration / reprogramming for it; and the processor causes the IIoT agent device to control and monitor production after being configured or reconfigured / reprogrammed by the IIoT cloud platform, and then transfer corresponding preset or agreed data to the IIoT cloud platform; and the IIoT cloud platform sends a reconfiguration / reprogramming instruction to the IIoT agent device at any time, ... thereby forming a complete control loop of the automated IIoT system.
However, Maturana further teaches:
wherein all production details, settings, or parameters, including process logic, control methodology, product recipe, and data point setup, are dynamically changed based on a decision, input, or command of the IIoT cloud platform, such that the IIoT cloud platform completely re-configures or re-programs a software portion of the IIoT agent device governing its working behavior or characteristics by sending a reconfiguration / reprogramming information or message; (Maturana: Figs. 2-3 and 12 and ¶[0053], ¶[0059], ¶[0061], ¶[0063]-¶[0064], ¶[0069], and ¶[0078]; Maturana teaches dynamically configuring cloud agents through a user interface component and based on customer configurations. Fig. 13 further teaches collecting data based on newly added data sources for customer-specific processing.)
wherein the reconfiguration / reprogramming information is equivalent to the configuration of the IhoT agent device, (Maturana: Figs. 2-3 and 12 and ¶[0053], ¶[0059], ¶[0061], ¶[0063]-¶[0064], ¶[0069], and ¶[0078]; Maturana teaches dynamically configuring cloud agents through a user interface component and based on customer configurations. Fig. 13 further teaches collecting data based on newly added data sources for customer-specific processing.)
wherein the processor is configured to cause the IIoT agent device to be disabled, idle or inactivated during initial startup or operation, until the IIoT cloud platform performs initial configuration or reconfiguration / reprogramming for it; and the processor causes the IIoT agent device to control and monitor production after being configured or reconfigured / reprogrammed by the IIoT cloud platform, and then transfer corresponding preset or agreed data to the IIoT cloud platform; and the IIoT cloud platform sends a reconfiguration / reprogramming instruction to the IIoT agent device at any time, ... thereby forming a complete control loop of the automated IIoT system. (Maturana: ¶[0054], ¶[0058]-¶[0060], ¶[0064]-¶[0065], ¶[0068], and ¶[0076]; Maturana teaches the cloud agent monitoring system on the cloud platform and sending compressed data packets. The agents may facilitate efficient transfer of the data to the cloud. Further, Maturana teaches instantiating the cloud agent for new connections formed.)
Maturana is in the same field of endeavor as the present invention, as it is directed to using cloud agents for industrial data collection and controls. It would have been obvious, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to a person of ordinary skill in the art, to combine cloud agents to collect data from and control industrial devices to further reprogram the cloud agents dynamically. An embodiment of Maturana already teaches the cloud agents. Maturana further provides the additional functionality of dynamically configuring them. As such, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine these teachings because the combination would allow to customize the data collection and analysis.
Maturana does not explicitly teach but Asenjo teaches:
and according to the reconfiguration / reprogramming instruction, the AI processing module is configured to repeatedly perform manufacturing simulation based on real-time data and output a new simulation data by using ... algorithm for comparison with the real-time data until an expected production result is realized, ... (Asenjo: ¶[0045], ¶[0052], and ¶[0056]; Asenio teaches performing a simulation to determine whether a modification of the industrial automation system is desirable, i.e. will improve the system and will not harm the system.)
Maturana and Asenjo are in the same field of endeavor as the present invention, as the references are directed to using cloud-based data for industrial processes. It would have been obvious, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to a person of ordinary skill in the art, to combine cloud agents to collect data from and control industrial devices as taught in Maturana with conducting a simulation to make sure the changes to the industrial automation systems are desirable as taught in Asenjo. Maturana already teaches a cloud based system with agents that collect data and control industrial processes. However, Maturana does not explicitly teach conducting a simulation to make sure the changes to the industrial automation systems are desirable. Asenjo provides this additional functionality. As such, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the teachings of Maturana to include teachings of Asenjo because the combination would allow improvements to the system, as suggested by Asenjo: ¶[0045], ¶[0052], and ¶[0056].
Maturana in view of Asenjo does not explicitly teach but Sturrock teaches:
... an AI processing module configured to implement a machine learning algorithm; (Sturrock: Figs. 9-11 and ¶[0063]-¶[0064]; Sturrock teaches using AI to generate a simulation model which will be run until the simulation is successful.)
... the machine learning ... (Sturrock: Figs. 9-11 and ¶[0063]-¶[0064]; Sturrock teaches using AI to generate a simulation model which will be run until the simulation is successful.)
Sturrock are in the same field of endeavor as the present invention, as the references are directed to using simulation in manufacturing processes. It would have been obvious, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to a person of ordinary skill in the art, to combine cloud agents to collect data from and control industrial devices and conducting a simulation to make sure the changes to the industrial automation systems are desirable as taught in Maturana in view of Asenjo with performing the processes using an AI module as taught in Sturrock. Sturrock provides this additional functionality. As such, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the teachings of Maturana and Asenjo to include teachings of Sturrock because the combination would allow another way of generating the simulation model, as suggested by Sturrock: ¶[0063].
Regarding claim 3, Maturana in view of Asenjo in view of Sturrock further teaches the device of claim 1 (as cited above).
Maturana further teaches:
wherein the processor is further configured to function as a visualization module, wherein the processor is configured to cause the IIoT agent device to collect a day-to-day operation data in a list of data registers for storing the data in the core module; and the visualization module visualizes the day-to-day operation data of a factory or a process using web-based HMI. (Maturana: Fig. 3 and ¶[0046]-¶[0047]; Maturana teaches the cloud infrastructure enabling remote monitoring from the cloud agents. Further, Figs. 2 (210), 3(322) and ¶[0041], ¶[0044], ¶[0055], and ¶[0065] teaches accommodating large quantities of data generated daily by an industrial enterprise and providing user interface to input parameter data and deliver output data. Further, reporting services can deliver data to client device and store data.)
Regarding claim 4, Maturana in view of Asenjo in view of Sturrock further teaches the device of claim 1 (as cited above).
Maturana further teaches:
wherein the processor is configured to cause the IIoT agent device to provide security assurance to the IIoT cloud platform; wherein the IIoT agent module or device is configured to have direct connection between field devices and/or programmable logic controllers (PLCs) via the driver module for conducting supervisory control and data acquisition operations, and transmit an accurate data and result to the IIoT cloud platform, so as to ensure accuracy of signal communication of control system and system security of the automated IIoT system. (Maturana: Fig. 14 and ¶[0057] and ¶[0073]-¶[0074]; Maturana teaches enforcing secure access to the customer cloud platform.)
Regarding claim 5, Maturana in view of Asenjo in view of Sturrock further teaches the device of claim 1 (as cited above).
Maturana further teaches:
wherein all data points setup takes place in the IIoT cloud platform, such that kind and number of data points being transferred is designed based on configuration details / detailed data in IIoT cloud platform; and/or the configuration details / detailed data in the IIoT cloud platform can be changed in anytime, from any place to demand more different types of data point transfer to facilitate interoperability of system. (Maturana: Figs. 2-3 and 12 and ¶[0053], ¶[0059], ¶[0061], ¶[0063]-¶[0064], ¶[0069], and ¶[0078]; Maturana teaches dynamically configuring cloud agents through a user interface component and based on customer configurations. Fig. 13 further teaches collecting data based on newly added data sources for customer-specific processing.)
Regarding claim 6, Maturana in view of Asenjo in view of Sturrock further teaches the module or device of claim 1 (as cited above).
Maturana further teaches:
wherein adding a new device or changing connection infrastructure takes place in configuration process of IIoT cloud platform to facilitate scalability of system, and a new configuration will then be delivered to a corresponding IIoT agent module or device, so as to monitor and control the new device accordingly; any amendment of current configuration in IIoT agent module or device is completely done at one time in the IIoT cloud platform at remote side, so that there is no need to repeatedly perform configuration updates on both the IIoT agent module or device and the IIoT cloud platform through manual operations; and wherein configuration consistence is assured between IIoT agent module or device and the IIoT cloud platform, by matching the data points transferred in the configuration between IIoT agent module or device and the IIoT cloud platform. (Maturana: Fig. 13; Maturana teaches introducing new data sources.)
Regarding claim 7, Maturana in view of Asenjo in view of Sturrock further teaches the module or device of claim 1 (as cited above).
Maturana further teaches:
wherein the IIoT agent module or device is configured to operate on behalf of the IIoT cloud platform to perform supervisory control and data acquisition duty, so as to facilitate centralized control of system, wherein the IIoT cloud platform issues a control statements to the IIoT agent module or device to implement the centralized control ability; and wherein actual behavior and outcome of production is in compliance with the IIoT cloud platform, wherein the IIoT agent module or device is regulated via a remote configuration update, such that the IIoT cloud platform can take full control of whole manufacturing process. (Maturana: ¶[0046]-¶[0047]; Maturana teaches remote collection and monitoring services and further controlling industrial devices.)
Regarding claim 8, Maturana in view of Asenjo in view of Sturrock further teaches the module or device of claim 1 (as cited above).
Asenjo further teaches:
wherein a new IIoT agent module or device can be integrated onto the IIoT cloud platform to perform manufacturing simulation according to a reconfiguration / reprogramming information or instruction, such that issues related to safety and/or production efficiency of IIoT system employing a newly configured IIoT agent module or device is solved or reduced by predicting potential risks of the new configuration before using the newly configured IIoT agent module or device. (Asenjo: ¶[0045], ¶[0052], and ¶[0056]; Asenio teaches performing a simulation to determine whether a modification of the industrial automation system is desirable, i.e. will improve the system and will not harm the system.)
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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 nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) 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 mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ALEX OLSHANNIKOV whose telephone number is (571)270-0667. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:30-6.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Scott Baderman can be reached at 571-272-3644. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/ALEKSEY OLSHANNIKOV/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2118