DETAILED ACTION
Drawings
The drawings are objected to because:
a. --FIG. 6-- appears to be mislabeled as “FIG. 5”. See proposed correction below.
PNG
media_image1.png
427
691
media_image1.png
Greyscale
b. FIG 7 fails to show “an example of system output tested of a field collected data” (which is mentioned at least in specification paragraph [0059]).
c. The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the feature(s) “waterfall plots” must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). If it is important to claim a feature as being new and novel, it is also important to show the feature. No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Objections
Claim 1 is objected to because there appears editorial errors. Going forward with examination, the claim is interpreted to be:
--A distributed fiber optic sensing system (DFOS) mapping method comprising:
providing a distributed fiber optic sensing system (DFOS), said system including
a length of optical sensor fiber; and
a DFOS interrogator and analyzer in optical communication with the length of optical fiber, said DFOS interrogator configured to generate optical pulses from laser light, introduce the pulses into the optical fiber and detect / receive Rayleigh reflected signals from the optical fiber, said analyzer configured to analyze the Rayleigh reflected signals and generate location / time waterfall plots from the analyzed Rayleigh reflected signals;
operating the DFOS
continuously operating the DFOS
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Chen et al. (CN 111679313 A, a machine translation of which is provided with this Office action).
Chen teaches:
1. A distributed fiber optic sensing system (DFOS) mapping method comprising:
providing a distributed fiber optic sensing system (DFOS), said system including (See figs. 1-4, reproduced and annotated below)
a length of optical sensor fiber (Figs. 1, 4); and
a DFOS interrogator and analyzer in optical communication with the length of optical fiber (as shown in at least fig. 1), said DFOS interrogator configured to generate optical pulses from laser light (to emit a coherent light signal; e.g., See Translation page 3: “a light source module for emitting a coherent light signal”), introduce the pulses into the optical fiber and detect / receive Rayleigh reflected signals from the optical fiber, said analyzer configured to analyze the Rayleigh reflected signals and generate location / time waterfall plots (Figs. 2, 3) from the analyzed Rayleigh reflected signals (all of which is a known principle of Optical Time Domain Reflection [OTDR]; e.g., See Translation pages 2-3);
operating the DFOS while providing mechanical excitations (e.g., by using a hammer knocking) to landmarks (e.g., manhole covers, as shown in at least figs. 1 and 4) along a route of the optical fiber thereby producing vibration events in the optical fiber and recording DFOS signals received during operation while associating location(s) of the landmarks to GPS coordinates of the landmarks (Abstract; Translation page 4, Step 3, Step 4);
continuously operating the DFOS and automatically determining time / location of vibration events (knocking events) from waterfall plots without human intervention and associating the vibration events to a GPS location (as the DFOS automatically generates a map of GPS locations of the manholes, for example, as shown at least in figs. 1, 4; Abstract; Translation page 4, Step 3, Step 4).
PNG
media_image2.png
1033
814
media_image2.png
Greyscale
PNG
media_image3.png
553
729
media_image3.png
Greyscale
2. The method of claim 1 wherein the time / location of vibration events from waterfall plots without human intervention includes signal pattern recognition of a vibrator device (as is evident at least from figs. 2, 3).
3. The method of claim 1 further comprising detection of groups of vertical segments on the waterfall plots (as is evident at least from figs. 2, 3).
4. The method of claim 4 further comprising quantifying the detected groups of vertical segments by their width and gaps (as evident at least from figs. 2, 3).
5. The method of claim 4 wherein the automatic determination includes operating a machine vision system that examines the waterfall plots (as evident at least from figs. 2, 3).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Nguyen (Wyn) Q. Ha whose telephone number is (571)272-2863. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 8 am - 4:30 pm (Eastern Time).
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, Stephen Meier can be reached on (571) 272-2149. 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.
/Nguyen Q. Ha/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2853 April 24, 2024
Prosecution Insights