DETAILED ACTION
Notice of 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 Claims
Claims 1-13 and 16-18 are amended.
Claims 1-18 have been examined and are pending.
Claims 1-18 are rejected (Final Rejection).
Response to Amendments and Arguments
Applicant’s amendments and remarks referred to below were filed 10/31/2025.
Applicant’s amendments to claims 8-13, 17 and 18 obviate the prior 35 U.S.C. § 112(f) interpretation.
Applicant’s amendments to claims 2, 7 and 16, and/or arguments obviate the prior 35 U.S.C. §§ 112(b) rejections.
Applicant’s arguments filed 10/31/2025, at Page 11-18, with respect to the rejections under 35 U.S.C. § 101 have been fully considered but they are unpersuasive.
As an initial matter, claims 7 and 16 would be statutory subject matter if the term “non-transitory” were added prior to “computer-readable medium” in each claim. However, without that limiting term, the claims may still be considered to cover both transitory (i.e., signals per se) and non-transitory media. Transitory media (signals) are not statutory subject matter.
Regarding the “abstract idea” analysis in Section 101, Applicant first argues that claim 1 does not recite an abstract idea because “amended claim 1 now defines a concrete and practical construction management method implemented via a system comprising a computer interconnected with various databases and information processing circuits”. However, a computer, database(s) and circuit(s) are generic computer components and were not the basis of the ”abstract idea” rejection and do not obviate the claim 1 being directed to an abstract idea. The mapping of the abstract idea has been updated within the Section 101 rejection below.
Second, Applicant argues, at page 16, that claim 1 now includes additional elements that integrate any abstract idea into a practical application because “amended claim 1 now concretely recites a practical construction management method that greatly facilitates the application of BIM (Building Information Modeling) in construction projects by continuously modifying the original BIM so that it conforms to the unanticipated but necessary structural changes that occur to the construction project”. At Pages 13 and 14, Applicant had explained “the invention is a method and system that greatly facilitates the application of BIM (Building Information Modeling) in construction projects by continuously modifying the original BIM so that it conforms to the unanticipated but necessary structural changes that occur to the construction project due to, e.g., the addition of construction members not included within the original BIM, or the departure of the actual measured dimensions of the construction members used from the BIM dimensions” (emphasis added).
However, “continuously modifying” (or updating) BIM is not considered to be a specific improvement to the existing technology (and even if it was, Applicant’s claims do not specifically require design BIM). Para. [0004] of the specification, which Applicant relies upon, is not simply saying original design BIM is modified/updated (which would be routine for a designer) but rather that post-design (i.e., at the construction site), the BIM is further modified (outside of the design studio, possibly without the original designer/architect). Applicant’s claim 1 not only fails to discuss BIM but it fails to embody the improvement to the existing technology (i.e., an improvement to the existing technology or computer capabilities may be considered to correspond to a practical application). Applicant’s arguments may be more persuasive if the claims included functionality that addressed problems that arise when design BIM data is updated at the construction site. As one example, Para. [0079] of the specification discusses “case where a member of a construction management object is not managed by design BIM”, which seems to potentially address a situation where non-design BIM is added to original design BIM. It also may help to further include data structures (instead of just storage containers/databases), such as the database column elements (e.g., size, shape, identifier(s)), that facilitate providing the improvement over the existing technology. Additionally, it seems like the corrected construction plan DB (FIG. 11) appears to be an important part of the technical solution to the alleged problem, such as by incorporating construction influenced portion ID(s) and portion shape(s) with relation to Step S4011 of FIG. 17.
Nonetheless, based on the current claim language, Examiner is unpersuaded that claim 1 provides an improvement (practical application) by “continuously modifying the original BIM” because at least the claims do not even discuss BIM, much less, distinguish routine BIM updates (e.g., in the design stage), which could be considered to correspond to “continuous modifying the original BIM”.
For these reasons, the 35 U.S.C. § 101 “abstract idea’ rejections are maintained and have been modified to address Applicant’s amended claim language.
Regarding Applicant’s § 103 arguments: The arguments regarding the rejections under 35 U.S.C. § 103 challenge certain limitations. These limitations are newly added and were therefore not addressed in the previous rejection; therefore, the arguments are moot. The amendments are newly addressed by the new grounds of rejection under 35 U.S.C. § 103.
Claim Objections
Claim 8 and 10 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 8 recites “… the measurement model; and a corrected construction plan creating circuit configured to … as construction designated member coordinates and a construction designated member shape, and construction content of the construction designated member as construction inspection content, in the corrected construction plan database, and a computer configured to … each of the circuits; wherein …”, which should be amended to recite “… the measurement model; respectively, and construction content of the construction designated member as construction inspection content, in the corrected construction plan database, and a computer configured to … each of the circuits,
Claim 10 recites “… the basic shape model; and a corrected construction plan creating circuit configured to … as construction designated member coordinates and a construction designated member shape, and construction content of the construction designated member as construction inspection content, in the corrected construction plan database, and a computer configured to … each of the circuits; wherein …”, which should be amended to recite “… the basic shape model; construction designated member shape, respectively, and construction content of the construction designated member as construction inspection content, in the corrected construction plan database, and a computer configured to … each of the circuits,
Claim Rejections - 35 U.S.C. § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. § 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
Claims 1-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 112(a), as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claims contain subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
Claim 1 has been amended to recite “wherein the design database, the measurement database, the construction database, and the corrected construction plan database are provided independently” (emphasis added). Applicant appears to rely on Para. [0047] of the specification for the above limitation. However, the specification does not use the term “independently” and Para. [0047] of the specification indicates each of the various databases “are stored in a server computer”.
Thus, the various databases discussed in the specification are stored in a single server—not provided independently. Further, it is not clear where the specification supports “select a construction member that is included in the construction database but not in the design database”.
Accordingly, Applicant has not particularly pointed out where the newly added claim limitations originate from in the original specification.
Accordingly, claim 1 is rejected for failing to comply with the written description requirement. Claims 3, 8 and 10 have substantially similar limitations as recited in claim 1; therefore, they are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) for the same reasons. Claims 2, 4-7, 9 and 11-18 depend respectively from one or more of rejected claims 1, 3, 8 and 10. Therefore, claims 2, 4-7, 9 and 11-18 are also rejected under the same rationale since these claims inherit the respective deficiencies of claims 1, 3, 8 and 10.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
Claims 4, 9, 11, 17 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 112(b) because of lack of antecedent basis in the claim.
Claims 4, 9 and 11 recites the following elements: “the member”. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this element in the claim. It is not clear which of the “construction member” and the “peripheral member” that “the member” refers to. Examiner suggests claim 9 be amended to recite “… determine whether one of the construction member and the peripheral member are movable one of the construction member and the peripheral one of the construction member and the peripheral member that is determined to be movable Claim 11 has substantially similar limitations as recited in claim 9; therefore, they are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 112(b) for the same reasons. Claims 17 and 18 depend respectively from one of rejected claims 9 and 11. Therefore, claims 17 and 18 are also rejected under the same rationale since these claims inherit the respective deficiencies of claims 9 and 11, while failing to cure the respective deficiencies.
Claim Rejections - 35 U.S.C. § 101
35 U.S.C. § 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
To determine if a claim is directed to patent ineligible subject matter, the Court has guided the Office to apply the Alice/Mayo test, which requires:
1. Determining if the claim falls within a statutory category;
2A. Determining if the claim is directed to a patent ineligible judicial exception consisting of a law of nature, a natural phenomenon, or abstract idea; and
2B. If the claim is directed to a judicial exception, determining if the claim recites limitations or elements that amount to significantly more than the judicial exception.
(See MPEP 2106).
Claims 1-18 Step 1, Statutory Category:
Yes: Claims 1-6, 14 and 15 are directed to the statutory category of a process. See MPEP § 2106.03.
Yes: Claims 8-13, 17 and 18 are directed to the statutory category of a machine. See MPEP § 2106.03.
Claims 7 and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 101 because the claimed invention is directed to non-statutory subject matter. With respect to claims 7 and 16, the claims each recite a storage medium storing a program. However, the specification does not provide an explicit definition on what the storage medium is directed to or limited to be. Also, the storage medium may be interpreted as a transitory transmission medium (signals per se), which fails to fall within at least one of the four categories of patent eligible subject matter. Examiner recommends further amending claims 7 and 16 to recite “… non-transitory computer-readable storage medium …”.
Claims 1-18 Steps 2A and 2B:
Step 2A Framework:
Step 2A is a two-prong inquiry. See MPEP 2106.04(II)(A). Under the first prong, examiners evaluate whether a law of nature, natural phenomenon, or abstract idea is set forth or described in the claim. Abstract ideas include mathematical concepts, certain methods of organizing human activity, and mental processes. MPEP § 2106.04(a)(2). The second prong is an inquiry into whether the claim integrates a judicial exception into a practical application. MPEP § 2106.04(d).
Claims 1-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 101 because the claimed invention is directed to an abstract idea without significantly more. The claim(s) recite a mental process and a mathematical calculation. See MPEP § 2106.04(a)(2)(I) and MPEP § 2106.04(a)(2)(III).
The following is an analysis based on the 2019 Revised Patent Subject Matter Eligibility Guidance (2019 PEG).
Claim 1 Step 2A Prong One: Does the Claim Recite a Judicial Exception?
For the sake of identifying the abstract ideas, a copy of the claim is provided below. The limitations of the claims that describe abstract ideas are bolded.
1. A management method executed by a computer configured to transmit and receive information to and from a design database recording coordinates and design data of construction members constituting a construction object, a measurement database recording measurement data of the construction members, a construction database storing construction data of the construction members and a corrected construction plan database, comprising:
a step (A) of selecting a construction member from the construction database via a circuit configured to select a construction member;
a step (B) of creating a design model of the construction member from design data of the construction member in the design database via a circuit configured to create a design model;
a step (C) of selecting a peripheral member peripheral to the construction member from the design database via a circuit configured to select a peripheral member;
a step (D) of creating a measurement model of the peripheral member from measurement data of the peripheral member in the measurement database via a circuit configured to create a measurement model;
a step (E) of creating a design corrected model by synthesizing the design model and the measurement model via a circuit configured to create a design corrected model;
a step (F) of selecting a construction designated member for which a construction plan is corrected based on the design corrected model via a circuit configured to select a construction designated member for which a construction plan is corrected; and
a step (G) of recording, with respect to the construction designated member, coordinates and a shape of the design corrected model as construction designated member coordinates and a construction designated member shape, and construction content of the construction designated member as construction inspection content, in the corrected construction plan database,
wherein the construction database includes at least information regarding construction items, members related to construction and construction content, and
wherein the design database, the measurement database, the construction database, and the corrected construction plan database are provided independently.
The limitations of “a step (A) of selecting a construction member from the construction database”, “a step (B) of creating a design model of the construction member from design data of the construction member in the design database”, “a step (C) of selecting a peripheral member peripheral to the construction member from the design database”, “a step (D) of creating a measurement model of the peripheral member from measurement data of the peripheral member in the measurement database”, “a step (E) of creating a design corrected model by synthesizing the design model and the measurement model”, “a step (F) of selecting a construction designated member for which a construction plan is corrected based on the design corrected model” and “a step (G) of recording, with respect to the construction designated member, coordinates and a shape of the design corrected model as construction designated member coordinates and a construction designated member shape, and construction content of the construction designated member as construction inspection content, in the corrected construction plan database” are abstract ideas because they are directed to mental processes, observations, evaluations, judgments, and/or opinions. The limitations, as drafted and under broadest reasonable interpretation, “can be performed in the human mind or by a human using a pen and paper”. See MPEP 2106.04(a)(2)(III). For example, a human could: (A) select/choose a beam from a catalog/database1 of construction parts, (B) manually create a design/model of the beam based on design data (e.g., dimensions and/or materials), (C) select/choose another construction part (e.g., frame) adjacent/peripheral to (or ”in contact with”) the beam, (D) manually create a design/model of the other construction part, (E) create a combined beam plus frame design/model, (F) re-select one of the beam or frame and (G) record coordinates and a shape of the combined beam plus frame model. In addition, the limitations of “a step (B) of creating a design model of the construction member from design data of the construction member in the design database”, “a step (D) of creating a measurement model of the peripheral member from measurement data of the peripheral member in the measurement database”, and “a step (E) of creating a design corrected model by synthesizing the design model and the measurement model” can be performed using mathematical calculations/equations and therefore encompass mathematical concepts. See MPEP 2106.04(a)(2)(I).
Claim 1 Step 2A Prong Two: Does the claim recite additional elements that integrate the judicial exception/Abstract idea into a practical application?
Under Step 2A Prong Two, this judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application because the additional claim limitations outside of the abstract idea only present mere instructions to apply an exception, generally link the use of the judicial exception to the technological environment, or insignificant extra-solution activity. In particular, the claim recites the additional limitations of:
• “executed by a computer configured to …” and “via a circuit configured to …” (mere instructions to apply an exception to a computer – see MPEP 2106.04(d) referencing MPEP 2106.05(f); these limitations can be viewed as nothing more than high level recitations of generic computer components or computer elements used as a tool, and represent mere instructions to apply the abstract idea on a generic computer (see MPEP 2106.05(f)).
• “transmit and receive information to and from a design database recording coordinates and design data of construction members constituting a construction object, a measurement database recording measurement data of the construction members, a construction database storing construction data of the construction members and a corrected construction plan database” and “wherein the construction database includes at least information regarding construction items, members related to construction and construction content, and wherein the design database, the measurement database, the construction database, and the corrected construction plan database are provided independently.” (insignificant extra-solution activity – mere data gathering/inputting and outputting – see MPEP 2106.04(d) referencing MPEP 2106.05(g); this limitation can be viewed as nothing more than mere data gathering and outputting in conjunction with the abstract idea (see MPEP § 2106.05(g)).
Claim 1 Step 2B: Do the additional elements, considered individually and in combination, amount to significantly more than the judicial exception?
The Examiner must consider whether each claim limitation individually or as an ordered combination amount to significantly more than the abstract idea. This analysis includes determining whether an inventive concept is furnished by an element or a combination of elements that are beyond the judicial exception. For limitations that were categorized as “apply it” or generally linking the use of the abstract idea to a particular technological environment or field of use, the analysis is the same.
The claim does not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception. As explained above, there are two types of additional elements. The first type of additional elements are the generic computer components, which are high level recitations of generic computer component(s) or computer elements used as a tool, and represent mere instructions to apply the abstract idea on a computer. See MPEP § 2106.05(f). Implementing an abstract idea on a generic computer, does not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application in Step 2A Prong Two or add significantly more in Step 2B, similar to how the recitation of the computer in the claim in Alice amounted to mere instructions to apply the abstract idea of intermediated settlement on a generic computer. See MPEP § 2106.05(f).
The second type of additional elements are the transmitting and receiving information to and from various databases, which as explained previously is insignificant extra-solution activity (mere data inputting/gathering and outputting). Recitation of transmitting/receiving data is mere data gathering/outputting that is recited at a high level of generality, and is also well-known. This limitation therefore remains insignificant extra-solution activity even upon reconsideration. Thus, this limitation does not amount to significantly more.
Even when considered in combination, these additional elements represent mere instructions to apply an exception and/or data gathering, which do not provide an inventive concept. The claims do not include any additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception. See MPEP § 2106.05(f).
Considering the claim limitations as an ordered combination, claim 1 does not include significantly more than the abstract idea. The claim 1 is not patent subject matter eligible. Dependent claims 2, 5, 7 and 14 are further addressed below after addressing each independent claim.
Claim 3 Step 2A Prong One: Does the Claim Recite a Judicial Exception?
For the sake of identifying the abstract ideas, a copy of the claim is provided below. The limitations of the claims that describe abstract ideas are bolded.
3. A management method executed by a computer configured to transmit and receive information to and from a design database recording coordinates and design data of construction members constituting a construction object, a measurement database recording measurement data of the construction members, a member database recording member basic data of the construction members, a construction database storing construction data of the construction members, and a corrected construction plan database, comprising:
a step (L) of selecting a construction member that is included in the construction database but not in the design database from the construction database via a circuit configured to select a construction member;
a step (M) of selecting a peripheral member peripheral to the construction member from the design database via a circuit configured to select a peripheral member;
a step (N) of creating a measurement model of the peripheral member based on measurement data in the measurement database via a circuit configured to create a measurement model;
a step (O) of creating a basic shape model of the construction member from the member basic data in the member database and the construction data in the construction database via a circuit configured to create a basic shape model;
a step (P) of creating a design corrected model by synthesizing the measurement model and the basic shape model via a circuit configured to create a design corrected model;
a step (Q) of selecting a construction designated member for which a construction plan is corrected based on the design corrected model via a circuit configured to select a construction designated member for which a construction plan is corrected; and
a step (R) of recording, with respect to the construction designated member, coordinates and a shape of the design corrected model as construction designated member coordinates and a construction designated member shape, and construction content of the construction designated member as construction inspection content, in the corrected construction plan database,
wherein the construction database includes at least information regarding construction items, members related to construction and construction content, and
wherein the design database, the measurement database, the construction database, and the corrected construction plan database are provided independently.
The limitations of “a step (L) of selecting a construction member that is included in the construction database but not in the design database from the construction database”, “a step (M) of selecting a peripheral member peripheral to the construction member from the design database”, “a step (N) of creating a measurement model of the peripheral member based on measurement data in the measurement database”, “a step (O) of creating a basic shape model of the construction member from the member basic data in the member database and the construction data in the construction database”, “a step (P) of creating a design corrected model by synthesizing the measurement model and the basic shape model”, “a step (Q) of selecting a construction designated member for which a construction plan is corrected based on the design corrected model” and “a step (R) of recording, with respect to the construction designated member, coordinates and a shape of the design corrected model as construction designated member coordinates and a construction designated member shape, and construction content of the construction designated member as construction inspection content, in the corrected construction plan database” are abstract ideas because they are directed to mental processes, observations, evaluations, judgments, and/or opinions. The limitations, as drafted and under broadest reasonable interpretation, “can be performed in the human mind or by a human using a pen and paper”. See MPEP 2106.04(a)(2)(III). For example, a human could: (L) select/choose light gauge steel from a catalog/database of construction materials/parts, (M) select/choose another construction part (e.g., beam) adjacent/peripheral to (or ”in contact with”) the steel, (N) manually create a design/model of the other construction part, (O) manually create a design/model of the steel based on design data (e.g., dimensions and/or materials), (P) create a combined steel plus beam design/model, (Q) re-select the steel and (G) record coordinates and a shape of the steel. In addition, the limitations of “a step (N) of creating a measurement model of the peripheral member based on measurement data in the measurement database”, “a step (O) of creating a basic shape model of the construction member from the member basic data in the member database and the construction data in the construction database”, and “a step (P) of creating a design corrected model by synthesizing the measurement model and the basic shape model” can be performed using mathematical calculations/equations and therefore encompass mathematical concepts. See MPEP 2106.04(a)(2)(I).
Claim 3 Step 2A Prong Two: Does the claim recite additional elements that integrate the judicial exception/abstract idea into a practical application?
Under Step 2A Prong Two, this judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application because the additional claim limitations outside of the abstract idea only present mere instructions to apply an exception, generally link the use of the judicial exception to the technological environment, or insignificant extra-solution activity. In particular, the claim recites the additional limitations of:
• “executed by a computer configured to …” and “via a circuit configured to …” (mere instructions to apply an exception to a computer – see MPEP 2106.04(d) referencing MPEP 2106.05(f); these limitations can be viewed as nothing more than high level recitations of generic computer components or computer elements used as a tool, and represent mere instructions to apply the abstract idea on a generic computer (see MPEP 2106.05(f)).
• “transmit and receive information to and from a design database recording coordinates and design data of construction members constituting a construction object, a measurement database recording measurement data of the construction members, a member database recording member basic data of the construction members, a construction database storing construction data of the construction members, and a corrected construction plan database” and “wherein the construction database includes at least information regarding construction items, members related to construction and construction content, and wherein the design database, the measurement database, the construction database, and the corrected construction plan database are provided independently” (insignificant extra-solution activity – mere data gathering/inputting and outputting – see MPEP 2106.04(d) referencing MPEP 2106.05(g); this limitation can be viewed as nothing more than mere data gathering and outputting in conjunction with the abstract idea (see MPEP § 2106.05(g)).
Claim 3 Step 2B: Do the additional elements, considered individually and in combination, amount to significantly more than the judicial exception?
The claim does not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception. As explained above, there are two types of additional elements. The first type of additional elements are the generic computer components, which are high level recitations of generic computer component(s) or computer elements used as a tool, and represent mere instructions to apply the abstract idea on a computer. See MPEP § 2106.05(f). Implementing an abstract idea on a generic computer, does not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application in Step 2A Prong Two or add significantly more in Step 2B, similar to how the recitation of the computer in the claim in Alice amounted to mere instructions to apply the abstract idea of intermediated settlement on a generic computer. See MPEP § 2106.05(f).
The second type of additional elements are the transmitting and receiving information to and from various databases, which as explained previously is insignificant extra-solution activity (mere data inputting/gathering and outputting). Recitation of transmitting/receiving data is mere data gathering/outputting that is recited at a high level of generality, and is also well-known. This limitation therefore remains insignificant extra-solution activity even upon reconsideration. Thus, this limitation does not amount to significantly more.
Even when considered in combination, these additional elements represent mere instructions to apply an exception and/or data gathering, which do not provide an inventive concept. The claims do not include any additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception. See MPEP § 2106.05(f).
Considering the claim limitations as an ordered combination, claim 3 does not include significantly more than the abstract idea. The claim 3 is not patent subject matter eligible. Dependent claims 4, 6, 15 and 16 are further addressed below after addressing each independent claim.
Claim 8 Step 2A Prong One: Does the Claim Recite a Judicial Exception?
For the sake of identifying the abstract ideas, a copy of the claim is provided below. The limitations of the claims that describe abstract ideas are bolded.
8. A management system comprising: a design database recording coordinates and design data of construction members constituting a construction object; a measurement database recording measurement data of the construction members; a construction database storing construction data of the construction members; a corrected construction plan database recording a corrected construction plan; a construction member selecting circuit configured to select a construction member from the construction database; a peripheral member selecting circuit configured to select a peripheral member peripheral to the construction member from the design database; a model creating circuit configured to create a design model of the construction member from the design data of the construction member, and a measurement model of the peripheral member from the measurement data of the peripheral member; a corrected model creating circuit configured to create a design corrected model by synthesizing the design model and the measurement model; and a corrected construction plan creating circuit configured to select a construction designated member for which a construction plan is corrected based on the design corrected model, and record, with respect to the construction designated member, coordinates and a shape of the design corrected model as construction designated member coordinates and a construction designated member shape, and construction content of the construction designated member as construction inspection content, in the corrected construction plan database, and a computer configured to transmit and receive information to and from each of the databases and each of the circuits; wherein the construction database includes at least information regarding construction items, members related to construction and construction content, and wherein the design database, the measurement database, the construction database, and the corrected construction plan database are provided independently.
The limitations of “select a construction member from the construction database”, “select a peripheral member peripheral to the construction member from the design database”, “create a design model of the construction member from design data of the construction member, and a measurement model of the peripheral member from measurement data of the peripheral member”, “create a design corrected model by synthesizing the design model and the measurement model” and “select a construction designated member for which a construction plan is corrected based on the design corrected model, and record, with respect to the construction designated member, coordinates and a shape of the design corrected model as construction designated member coordinates and a construction designated member shape, and construction content of the construction designated member as construction inspection content, in the corrected construction plan database” are abstract ideas because they are directed to mental processes, observations, evaluations, judgments, and/or opinions. The limitations, as drafted and under broadest reasonable interpretation, “can be performed in the human mind or by a human using a pen and paper”. See MPEP 2106.04(a)(2)(III). For example, a human could: (A) select/choose a beam from a catalog/database of construction parts, (B) select/choose another construction part (e.g., frame) adjacent/peripheral to (or ”in contact with”) the beam, (C) manually create a design/model of the beam based on design data (e.g., dimensions and/or materials) and a design/model of the other construction part, (D) create a combined beam plus frame design/model, and (E) re-select one of the beam or frame, and record coordinates and a shape of the combined beam plus frame model. In addition, the limitations of “create a design model of the construction member from design data of the construction member, and a measurement model of the peripheral member from measurement data of the peripheral member”, and “create a design corrected model by synthesizing the design model and the measurement model” can be performed using mathematical calculations/equations and therefore encompass mathematical concepts. See MPEP 2106.04(a)(2)(I).
Claim 8 Step 2A Prong Two: Does the claim recite additional elements that integrate the judicial exception/Abstract idea into a practical application?
Under Step 2A Prong Two, this judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application because the additional claim limitations outside of the abstract idea only present mere instructions to apply an exception, generally link the use of the judicial exception to the technological environment, or insignificant extra-solution activity. In particular, the claim recites the additional limitations of:
• “a design database recording coordinates and design data of construction members constituting a construction object; a measurement database recording measurement data of the construction members; a corrected construction plan database recording a corrected construction plan; a construction database storing construction data of the construction members”, “a construction member selecting circuit configured to”, “a peripheral member selecting circuit configured to”, “a model creating circuit configured to”, “a corrected model creating circuit configured to”, “a corrected construction plan creating circuit configured to”, “a computer configured to” and “wherein the construction database includes at least information regarding construction items, members related to construction and construction content, and wherein the design database, the measurement database, the construction database, and the corrected construction plan database are provided independently” (mere instructions to apply an exception to a computer – see MPEP 2106.04(d) referencing MPEP 2106.05(f); these limitations can be viewed as nothing more than high level recitations of generic computer components or computer elements used as a tool, and represent mere instructions to apply the abstract idea on a generic computer (see MPEP 2106.05(f)).
• “transmit and receive information to and from each of the databases and each of the circuits” (insignificant extra-solution activity – mere data gathering/inputting and outputting – see MPEP 2106.04(d) referencing MPEP 2106.05(g); this limitation can be viewed as nothing more than mere data gathering and outputting in conjunction with the abstract idea (see MPEP § 2106.05(g)).
Claim 8 Step 2B: Do the additional elements, considered individually and in combination, amount to significantly more than the judicial exception?
The claim does not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception. As explained above, there are two types of additional elements. The first type of additional elements are the generic computer components, which are high level recitations of generic computer component(s) or computer elements used as a tool, and represent mere instructions to apply the abstract idea on a computer. See MPEP § 2106.05(f). Implementing an abstract idea on a generic computer, does not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application in Step 2A Prong Two or add significantly more in Step 2B, similar to how the recitation of the computer in the claim in Alice amounted to mere instructions to apply the abstract idea of intermediated settlement on a generic computer. See MPEP § 2106.05(f).
The second type of additional elements are the transmitting and receiving information to and from various databases, which as explained previously is insignificant extra-solution activity (mere data inputting/gathering and outputting). Recitation of transmitting/receiving data is mere data gathering/outputting that is recited at a high level of generality, and is also well-known. This limitation therefore remains insignificant extra-solution activity even upon reconsideration. Thus, this limitation does not amount to significantly more.
Even when considered in combination, these additional elements represent mere instructions to apply an exception and/or data gathering, which do not provide an inventive concept. The claims do not include any additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception. See MPEP § 2106.05(f).
Considering the claim limitations as an ordered combination, claim 8 does not include significantly more than the abstract idea. The claim 8 is not patent subject matter eligible. Dependent claims 9, 12 and 17 are further addressed below after addressing each independent claim.
Claim 10 Step 2A Prong One: Does the Claim Recite a Judicial Exception?
For the sake of identifying the abstract ideas, a copy of the claim is provided below. The limitations of the claims that describe abstract ideas are bolded.
10. A management system comprising: a design database recording design data of construction members constituting a construction object; a measurement database recording measurement data of the construction members; a member database recording member basic data of the construction members; a construction database storing construction data of the construction members; a corrected construction plan database recording a corrected construction plan; a construction member selecting circuit configured to select a construction member that is included in the construction database but not in the design database from the construction database; a peripheral member selecting circuit configured to select a peripheral member peripheral to the construction member from the design database; a model creating circuit configured to create a measurement model of the peripheral member based on the measurement data in the measurement database; a basic shape model creating circuit configured to create a basic shape model of the construction member from the member basic data in the member database and the construction data in the construction database; a corrected model creating circuit configured to create a design corrected model by synthesizing the measurement model and the basic shape model; and a corrected construction plan creating circuit configured to select a construction designated member for which a construction plan is corrected based on the design corrected model, and record, with respect to the construction designated member, coordinates and a shape of the design corrected model as construction designated member coordinates and a construction designated member shape, and construction content of the construction designated member as construction inspection content, in the corrected construction plan database, and a computer configured to transmit and receive information to and from each of the databases and each of the circuits; wherein the construction database includes at least information regarding construction items, members related to construction and construction content, and wherein the design database, the measurement database, the construction database, and the corrected construction plan database are provided independently.
The limitations of “select a construction member that is included in the construction database but not in the design database from the construction database”, “select a peripheral member peripheral to the construction member from the design database”, “create a measurement model of the peripheral member based on the measurement data in the measurement database”, “create a basic shape model of the construction member from the member basic data in the member database and the construction data in the construction database”, “create a design corrected model by synthesizing the measurement model and the basic shape model”, and “select a construction designated member for which a construction plan is corrected based on the design corrected model, and record, with respect to the construction designated member, coordinates and a shape of the design corrected model as construction designated member coordinates and a construction designated member shape, and construction content of the construction designated member as construction inspection content, in the corrected construction plan database” are abstract ideas because they are directed to mental processes, observations, evaluations, judgments, and/or opinions. The limitations, as drafted and under broadest reasonable interpretation, “can be performed in the human mind or by a human using a pen and paper”. See MPEP 2106.04(a)(2)(III). For example, a human could: (1) select/choose light gauge steel from a catalog/database of construction materials/parts, (2) select/choose another construction part (e.g., beam) adjacent/peripheral to (or ”in contact with”) the steel, (3) manually create a design/model of the other construction part, (4) manually create a design/model of the steel based on design data (e.g., dimensions and/or materials), (5) create a combined steel plus beam design/model, and (6) re-select the steel and record coordinates and a shape of the steel. In addition, the limitations of “create a measurement model of the peripheral member based on the measurement data in the measurement database”, “create a basic shape model of the construction member from the member basic data in the member database and the construction data in the construction database” and “create a design corrected model by synthesizing the measurement model and the basic shape model” can be performed using mathematical calculations/equations and therefore encompass mathematical concepts. See MPEP 2106.04(a)(2)(I).
Claim 10 Step 2A Prong Two: Does the claim recite additional elements that integrate the judicial exception/Abstract idea into a practical application?
Under Step 2A Prong Two, this judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application because the additional claim limitations outside of the abstract idea only present mere instructions to apply an exception, generally link the use of the judicial exception to the technological environment, or insignificant extra-solution activity. In particular, the claim recites the additional limitations of:
• “a design database recording design data of construction members constituting a construction object; a measurement database recording measurement data of the construction members; a member database recording member basic data of the construction members; a corrected construction plan database recording a corrected construction plan; a construction database storing construction data of the construction members”, “a construction member selecting circuit configured to”, “a peripheral member selecting circuit configured to”, “a model creating circuit configured to”, “a basic shape model creating circuit configured to”, “a corrected model creating unit configured to”, “a corrected construction plan creating unit configured to”, “a computer configured to” and “wherein the construction database includes at least information regarding construction items, members related to construction and construction content, and wherein the design database, the measurement database, the construction database, and the corrected construction plan database are provided independently” (mere instructions to apply an exception to a computer – see MPEP 2106.04(d) referencing MPEP 2106.05(f); these limitations can be viewed as nothing more than high level recitations of generic computer components or computer elements used as a tool, and represent mere instructions to apply the abstract idea on a generic computer (see MPEP 2106.05(f)).
• “transmit and receive information to and from each of the databases and each of the circuits” (insignificant extra-solution activity – mere data gathering/inputting and outputting – see MPEP 2106.04(d) referencing MPEP 2106.05(g); this limitation can be viewed as nothing more than mere data gathering and outputting in conjunction with the abstract idea (see MPEP § 2106.05(g)).
Claim 10 Step 2B: Do the additional elements, considered individually and in combination, amount to significantly more than the judicial exception?
The claim does not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception. As explained above, there are two types of additional elements.
The first type of additional elements are the generic computer components, which are high level recitations of generic computer component(s) or computer elements used as a tool, and represent mere instructions to apply the abstract idea on a computer. See MPEP § 2106.05(f). Implementing an abstract idea on a generic computer, does not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application in Step 2A Prong Two or add significantly more in Step 2B, similar to how the recitation of the computer in the claim in Alice amounted to mere instructions to apply the abstract idea of intermediated settlement on a generic computer. See MPEP § 2106.05(f).
The second type of additional elements are the transmitting and receiving information to and from various databases, which as explained previously is insignificant extra-solution activity (mere data inputting/gathering and outputting). Recitation of transmitting/receiving data is mere data gathering/outputting that is recited at a high level of generality, and is also well-known. This limitation therefore remains insignificant extra-solution activity even upon reconsideration. Thus, this limitation does not amount to significantly more.
Even when considered in combination, these additional elements represent mere instructions to apply an exception and/or data gathering, which do not provide an inventive concept. The claims do not include any additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception. See MPEP § 2106.05(f).
Considering the claim limitations as an ordered combination, claim 10 does not include significantly more than the abstract idea. The claim 10 is not patent subject matter eligible. Dependent claims 11, 13 and 18 are further addressed below.
Dependent Claims 2, 4-7, 9 and 11-18
Regarding claims 2, 4, 5 and 6, claim 2 depends from claim 1 and further recites: “wherein further, by the computer transmitting and receiving information to and from a member database recording member basic data of the construction members, before step (E), whether the construction member and the peripheral member are movable is determined by referring to the member database, and when at least one of the construction member and the peripheral member is determined to be unmovable, the design corrected model is created in step (E), and when at least one of the construction member and the peripheral member is determined to be movable, movability information of the determined movable member is read from the member database and a movable model of the movable member is created via a circuit configured to create a movable model, and a design corrected model is created by synthesizing the design model or the measurement model with the movable model via the circuit configured to create a design corrected model, and the processing shifts to step (F), and in step (G), by further referring to the member database, construction influenced portion information based on the movability information of the movable member is recorded in the corrected construction plan database”, claim 4 depends from claim 3 and further recites: “wherein, further, before the step (P), whether the construction member and the peripheral member are movable members is determined by referring to the member database, and when at least one of the construction member and the peripheral member is determined to be unmovable, the design corrected model is created in step (P), and when the member is determined to be movable, movability information of the determined movable member is read from the member database via the computer, a movable model of the movable member is created via a circuit configured to create a movable model, a design corrected model is created by synthesizing the measurement model, the basic shape model, and the movable model via the circuit configured to create a design corrected model, and the processing shifts to step (Q), and in the step (R), by the computer further referring to the member database, influenced portion information based on the movability information of the movable member is recorded in the corrected construction plan database”, claim 5 depends from claim 1 and further recites: “further comprising: a step of writing, via the computer, the construction designated member coordinates and the construction designated member shape of the construction designated member recorded in the corrected construction plan database over member coordinates and a member shape linked by member identification information of the construction designated member in the design database” and claim 6 depends from claim 3 and further recites: “further comprising: a step of newly adding the construction designated member, the construction designated member coordinates, and the construction designated member shape recorded in the corrected construction plan database into the design database via the computer”.
These features have been considered in combination with the features required by the claim(s) from which these claims depend. The bolded portion(s) of the additional feature(s) are considered to further clarify the details of the mathematical concepts and/or the human’s mental activity (e.g., with pen and paper). See MPEP §§ 2106.04(a)(2)(I) and (III). In addition, the “transmitting and receiving information to and from a member database recording member basic data of the construction members” can be viewed as nothing more than mere data gathering and outputting in conjunction with the abstract idea (see MPEP § 2106.05(g)). The computer and various circuits are viewed as nothing more than high level recitations of generic computer components or computer elements used as a tool, and represent mere instructions to apply the abstract idea on a generic computer (see MPEP 2106.05(f)). Therefore, these features are considered to be drawn to the abstract idea without adding significantly more, and hence claims 2, 4, 5 and 6 are considered to be ineligible under 35 U.S.C. § 101.
Regarding claim 7, claim 7 depends recites: “A computer-readable storage medium including computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform the management method according to Claim 1”.
These features have been considered in combination with the features required by the claim from which the claim apparently depends. The storage medium storing a management program as a computer program and enabling executing of the management method are viewed as nothing more than high level recitations of generic computer components or computer elements used as a tool, and represent mere instructions to apply the abstract idea on a generic computer (see MPEP 2106.05(f)). Therefore, these features are considered to be drawn to the abstract idea without adding significantly more, and hence claim 7 is considered to be ineligible under 35 U.S.C. § 101.
Claim 9 has substantially similar limitations as recited in claim 2; therefore it is rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 101 for the same reasons.
Claim 11 has substantially similar limitations as recited in claim 4; therefore it is rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 101 for the same reasons.
Claims 12, 14 and 17 have substantially similar limitations as recited in claim 5; therefore, they are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 101 for the same reasons.
Claim 13, 15 and 18 have substantially similar limitations as recited in claim 6; therefore, they are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 101 for the same reasons.
Claim 16 has substantially similar limitations as recited in claim 7; therefore it is rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 101 for the same reasons.
For the foregoing reasons, claims 1-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 101 as being directed to patent ineligible subject matter.
Claim Rejections - 35 U.S.C. § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over KAMAT et al. (U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2014/0200863) in view of LIEBL et al (U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2021/0109417).
Regarding claim 1, KAMAT discloses a management method executed by a computer (a system for monitoring proximity of objects at a construction jobsite via three-dimensional virtuality in real-time includes a computer readable medium with a non-transient data storage device having instructions thereon for performing several steps, Para. [0007] of KAMAT) configured to transmit and receive information to and from a design database recording coordinates (latitude/longitude, linear units of measurement for coordinates, distance, Para. [0040] of KAMAT and dimensions, Para. [0067] of KAMAT) and design data (CAD data, Paras. [0034], [0035] & [0039] of KAMAT) of construction members constituting a construction object (construction equipment, objects at construction jobsite, Paras. [0035] & [0046] of KAMAT), a measurement database recording measurement data of the construction members (latitude/longitude, linear units of measurement for coordinates, distance, Para. [0040] of KAMAT and dimensions, Para. [0067] of KAMAT), a construction database storing construction data (type of equipment, service dates, owner, tolerance, Paras. [0088] & [0127] of KAMAT) of the construction members (Regarding this limitation, see also: since the sensor and user input 12, 14 update the GIS and CAD data 10 in the simulation and graphics engine 16 in real-time, the HV simulation gives warnings if a pair of objects come within a pre-determined safety threshold, Para. [0034]; [updating data is interpreted as receiving information from and transmitting information to the data source [database]; [CAD data is computer-aided design data, Para. [0034] of KAMAT, which corresponds to design data of construction members (the GIS and CAD data 10 are used to represent a typical construction jobsite, Para. [0035] of KAMAT)]; See also GIS data generally consists of two data parts: a geometry part and an associated attribute part … currently, the GIS data is stored in a single object relational database management system (DBMS) … DBMS model permits ready access to the data and the creation of 3D models of the geometry part of the GIS data … the geometry part is typically in a two-dimensional (2D) form as points, lines, or polygons, Para. [0039] of KAMAT; See also next paragraph: since GIS data represents features on the earth's surface, their locations in a GIS dataset correspond to the earth's coordinates at the locations—that is, latitude and longitude values … this is referred to as a coordinate system and in the case of the earth is called a geographic coordinate system (GCS) … the PCS uses linear units of measurement for coordinates rather than the latitude and longitude values, and hence distance and area calculations can be performed in linear units, Para. [0040] of KAMAT; [the latitude/longitude, PCS linear units of measurement and/or distance are interpreted as corresponding to measurement data]; See also 3D models' dimensions, such as diameter, are obtained from the attributes of the buried utilities in the GIS database, Para. [0067] of KAMAT; See also Paras. [0077], [0080], [0094], [0095], [0102] and [0113]-[0121] of KAMAT, regarding measurements; See also the B3M framework can create 3D utility models from CAD input data …similar to the approach of treating GIS input, B3M creates a 3D polygon model for every straight line segment in a polyline … this arrangement can ensure that every 3D model created is analogous to its representation in the real-world … unlike GIS, which treats spatial and non-spatial properties seamlessly, CAD can require its attribute data (e.g., shape, size, type, service dates, owner, etc.) to be archived in separate files that are accessed by the 3D modeling framework during creation of models, Para. [0088] of KAMAT; [the attribute data, including type, service dates, owner can be interpreted as corresponding to construction data]; See also types of equipment are hydraulic excavators, backhoe loaders, graders, dump trucks and haulers, Para. [0127] of KAMAT; See also the geometric proximity monitoring framework includes 3D geometry models, position, and orientation updates in order to perform proximity analysis, tolerance checks, and collision detection between a pair of objects or entities, Para. [0091] of KAMAT; [the orientation and tolerance of construction objects is interpreted as construction data]), and a corrected construction plan database (HV simulation can also utilize user input from the real-world to update virtual objects in the scene, Para. [0033] of KAMAT; See also update the GIS and CAD data in real-time, Para. [0034] of KAMAT; See also new scene graphs can be created by combining two or more existing graphs; that is, by adding other scene graphs as child nodes … this enables the creation of a new HV scene from existing scene graph elements, Para. [0049] of KAMAT), comprising: a step (A) of selecting a construction member from the construction database via a circuit configured to select a construction member (input options for articulated objects, such as the backhoe excavator 46, can be specified at the time of HV scene creation, Para. [0062] of KAMAT; See also the user input 14 can be used in combination with, or as a replacement for, sensor input to provide commands in order to update the pose of construction equipment in the HV scene for set-up purposes … the user input 14 also updates and advances the HV scene, in particular the 3D models of the construction equipment, Para. [0046] of KAMAT; See also a visualization scheme can be categorized as interactive or fixed … an example interactive visualization is one that allows users to navigate through it, select an element for closer inspection, highlight areas of interest, or view the scene from different viewpoints … in one embodiment, the framework has a visualization scheme that is interactive in nature, allowing users to view attribute data for parts of the network … the display of on-demand attribute data and user-initiated changes to the displayed elements in the scene can call for visualization schemes to be rendered in real-time and at interactive frame rates. … users can also change the transparency so that surface features can be made visible and aid in location on the terrain … users may further interact by selecting a specific utility from a large number of crisscrossed utilities that may be displayed in the scene … the selection could take advantage of attribute data and highlight the utility that a user may be interested in, Para. [0071] of KAMAT); a step (B) of creating a design model of the construction member from design data of the construction member in the design database via a circuit configured to create a design model (creating 3D models of buildings and buried utilities in wireframe and textured with digital images, Para. [0035]; See also DBMS model permits ready access to the data and the creation of 3D models of the geometry part of the GIS data … creating the 3D models from the 2D geometry can ensure that the 3D models have the same spatial attribute and real-world location as the underlying 2D geometry., Para. [0039] of KAMAT); a step (C) of selecting a peripheral member peripheral to the construction member from the design database via a circuit configured to select a peripheral member (CAD objects are used as input for proximity computations and impact detection queries, Para. [0041] of KAMAT; See also monitoring the proximity of construction equipment and buried utilities and other objects relative to each other in order to avoid unintended impact between them, Para. [0003] of KAMAT; See also determining a geometric proximity between the simulated dynamic object of the construction jobsite and the simulated second object of the construction jobsite, Para. [0006] of KAMAT; See also proximity queries compute the minimum distance between a pair of 3D CAD models … these queries are similar to collision queries, Para. [0058] of KAMAT; See also when creating the excavator 18 as an object, a track 20 object should translate and rotate in order to replicate an excavator's track in the real-world … when the track node (transform) is rotated, all of its child nodes--cabin 22, boom 24, stick 26, and bucket 28--also rotate by the same amount, Para. [0049] of KAMAT; [each of the utility lines (“buried utilities”) and child node objects (e.g., cabin, boom, stick, bucket) are interpreted to correspond to peripheral/adjacent (close proximity) objects in relation to the excavator 18 (construction equipment)]; See also input options for articulated objects, such as the backhoe excavator 46, can be specified at the time of HV scene creation, Para. [0062] of KAMAT; See also the user input 14 can be used in combination with, or as a replacement for, sensor input to provide commands in order to update the pose of construction equipment in the HV scene for set-up purposes … the user input 14 also updates and advances the HV scene, in particular the 3D models of the construction equipment, Para. [0046] of KAMAT; See also a visualization scheme can be categorized as interactive or fixed … an example interactive visualization is one that allows users to navigate through it, select an element for closer inspection, highlight areas of interest, or view the scene from different viewpoints … in one embodiment, the framework has a visualization scheme that is interactive in nature, allowing users to view attribute data for parts of the network … the display of on-demand attribute data and user-initiated changes to the displayed elements in the scene can call for visualization schemes to be rendered in real-time and at interactive frame rates. … users can also change the transparency so that surface features can be made visible and aid in location on the terrain … users may further interact by selecting a specific utility from a large number of crisscrossed utilities that may be displayed in the scene … the selection could take advantage of attribute data and highlight the utility that a user may be interested in, Para. [0071] of KAMAT; [In addition, Applicant’s specification, at Para. [0038], appears to indicate that the “selecting” of a peripheral object may correspond to extracting a peripheral object peripheral to the construction member based on coordinates and shape (i.e., proximity or collision detection discussed above)]); a step (D) of creating a measurement model of the peripheral member (the data for utility lines such as pipes and conduits can be in the form of lines and polylines … this 2D data may not necessarily be representative of the buried utilities in the real-world … moreover, the data may not be suitable in some collision detection and proximity computations due to the lack of geometric primitives such as triangles and quads … thus, in some instances, the data from GIS databases or CAD drawings can be processed to create accurate 3D models, Para. [0065] of KAMAT; See also creating 3D models of buildings and buried utilities in wireframe and textured with digital images, Para. [0035]; See also modeling framework can take into account any horizontal or vertical offsets, as well as the type of location data being supplied to it, to create 3D utility models that represent the real-world buried utilities most accurately in terms of horizontal and vertical location, shape, and size, Para. [0080] of KAMAT) from measurement data of the peripheral member in the measurement database via a circuit configured to create a measurement model (3D models' dimensions, such as diameter, are obtained from the attributes of the buried utilities in the GIS database, Para. [0067]); a step (E) of creating a design corrected model by synthesizing the design model and the measurement model via a circuit configured to create a design corrected model (an HV scene is the aggregation of all articulated object construction equipment, 3D terrain, and GIS and CAD data that are part of the real-world being emulated by the HV scene … hence a complete HV scene is a scene graph that uses existing sub-graphs of articulated objects and other 3D objects set in hierarchical order, Para. [0062] of KAMAT; See also new scene graphs can be created by combining two or more existing graphs; that is, by adding other scene graphs as child nodes … this enables the creation of a new HV scene from existing scene graph elements, Para. [0049] of KAMAT; See also scene consisting of a dump truck and the excavator 18 on a construction jobsite with buried utilities is an example of a typical scene that can be modeled as an HV simulation … in this example, the SAGE 16 receives input in the form of the 3D terrain model of the construction jobsite … the GIS data input for the buried utility and CAD data input for articulated objects represents the dump truck and the excavator 18 … the articulated dump truck and excavator 18 are scene graphs that can be added to the parent scene graph representing the HV scene, Para. [0050] of KAMAT; See also in GIS, utility pipes are typically modeled as polyline features, and utility junctions as point features … shape, size, depth, and other information are treated as utility-specific attributes … a single utility represented as a GIS polyline feature typically consists of a number of straight line segments connected at turning points but represented as a single entity … in the real-world, a utility having bends consists of individual pipe segments that are joined to one another to create an overall single entity … thus a pre-processing step is included in some embodiments to break down GIS polylines into straight line features connected at turning locations prior to 3D modeling … through this step, a 3D utility consists of individual 3D segments and not one single entity … following the pre-processing step, the location, depth, cross-section shape, and dimension can be retrieved from the GIS attributes to create 3D polygon models, Para. [0087]; See also KAMAT citations in the “selecting” limitations above related to user-initiated changes and user interaction/selection); a step (F) of selecting a construction designated member for which a construction plan is corrected based on the design corrected model via a circuit configured to select a construction designated member for which a construction plan is corrected (CAD equipment models loaded into the SAGE 16 are updated with pose data from the construction jobsite to specify their pose … after the initialization step, the equipment CAD models have poses equivalent to their real-world counterparts, Para. [0051] of KAMAT; See also each sensor on real-world construction equipment updates its corresponding transform in the HV simulation's virtual equipment model, Para. [0053] of KAMAT; See also input options for articulated objects, such as the backhoe excavator 46, can be specified at the time of HV scene creation, Para. [0062] of KAMAT; See also the user input 14 can be used in combination with, or as a replacement for, sensor input to provide commands in order to update the pose of construction equipment in the HV scene for set-up purposes … the user input 14 also updates and advances the HV scene, in particular the 3D models of the construction equipment, Para. [0046] of KAMAT; See also a visualization scheme can be categorized as interactive or fixed … an example interactive visualization is one that allows users to navigate through it, select an element for closer inspection, highlight areas of interest, or view the scene from different viewpoints … in one embodiment, the framework has a visualization scheme that is interactive in nature, allowing users to view attribute data for parts of the network … the display of on-demand attribute data and user-initiated changes to the displayed elements in the scene can call for visualization schemes to be rendered in real-time and at interactive frame rates. … users can also change the transparency so that surface features can be made visible and aid in location on the terrain … users may further interact by selecting a specific utility from a large number of crisscrossed utilities that may be displayed in the scene … the selection could take advantage of attribute data and highlight the utility that a user may be interested in, Para. [0071] of KAMAT); and a step (G) of recording, with respect to the construction designated member, coordinates and a shape of the design corrected model as construction designated member coordinates and a construction designated member shape (georeferencing is the assignment of a location attribute to information … georeferencing is done through systems such as latitude-longitude, projection coordinate systems, and global positioning systems … suitably, all of the information being used in an HV simulation can be the same projected coordinate system and can have the same units … any data having dissimilar georeferencing may not coincide with the rest of the elements in an HV simulation … thus, in one embodiment, the utility data from a given database should have the same datum, projection coordinate system, and units as the terrain model being used for the HV simulation … it has been observed that the 3D models created from GIS data also show the georeferenced property, Para. [0066] of KAMAT; See also the framework uses a common coordinate system with the same units for storing or converting all elements of a scene, such as utilities, terrain, and sensors, Para. [0078] of KAMAT; Regarding the coordinates and shape being recorded, see also: both shape and size data are commonly archived in GIS databases as attribute data, Para. [0079] of KAMAT; See also in addition to shape and size data, it has been determined that in some cases an unambiguous approach is called for when specifying how the utility location data is collected and archived … during the data collection stage, location data is typically collected at every point in which the direction of the utility line changes … using this approach, it is safe to assume that the utility line is a straight line between two successive points when viewed in a 2D planar view … location data collected at every turning point consists of three elements: latitude for horizontal location, longitude for horizontal location, and altitude for vertical location … in the case of buried utility data collection, the altitude element can sometimes be the source of much uncertainty and error … for instance, the elevation data collected can refer to: the elevation of the ground surface; the elevation of the top, middle, or bottom of the buried utility; or any random location on the buried utility … the specific location on the utility structure at which the elevation is obtained should be recorded, Para. [0080] of KAMAT; [latitude and longitude are interpreted as corresponding to coordinates]; See also since GIS data represents features on the earth's surface, their locations in a GIS dataset correspond to the earth's coordinates at the locations—that is, latitude and longitude values … this is referred to as a coordinate system and in the case of the earth is called a geographic coordinate system (GCS), Para. [0040] of KAMAT), and construction content of the construction designated member as construction inspection content, in the corrected construction plan database (any combination of distance, collision, and/or tolerance queries can be instantiated between two entities … tolerance queries can be used to check if a predetermined safety threshold distance has been breached during operation, Para. [0112] of KAMAT; [a safety tolerance is interpreted as corresponding to an inspection content]; [See also Applicant’s specification, at Para. [0029], regarding “[c]onstruction content” includes “acceptable error”, which is interpreted as corresponding to tolerance]), wherein the construction database includes at least information regarding construction items, members related to construction and construction content (the graphical database is analyzed for proximity as well as impacts between entities … results from the analysis can be used to trigger audio-visual warnings to notify the operator with vital information such as: 1) proximity of excavator's digging implement to buried utility; 2) breach of safety threshold; and 3) impending impact, Para. [0092] of KAMAT; [the graphical database is interpreted as corresponding to a construction database, the position/proximity of excavator’s digging implement is interpreted as information regarding construction items, the buried utility is interpreted as member related to construction and the safety threshold is interpreted as construction content]; See also tolerance queries can be used to check if a predetermined safety threshold distance has been breached during operation, Para. [0112] of KAMAT; [a safety tolerance is interpreted as corresponding to an inspection content]; [See also Applicant’s specification, at Para. [0029], regarding “[c]onstruction content” includes “acceptable error”, which is interpreted as corresponding to tolerance]), and wherein the measurement database (the GIS data is stored in a single object relational database management system (DBMS), Para. [0039] of KAMAT; See also GIS database, Para. [0099] of KAMAT), and the construction database (the graphical database, Para. [0092] of KAMAT) are provided independently (pose is updated in real-time and maintains the fidelity of the database, Para. [0101] of KAMAT).
KAMAT does not appear to explicitly disclose wherein the design database and the corrected construction plan database are provided independently.
LIEBL, however, is in the same field of updating databases at an installation/construction location (Abstract of LIEBL) and discloses wherein the design database and the corrected construction plan database are provided independently (future upgrades or design changes may be designed on the provider-side, wherein a current version of the project database at the provider-side is updated as part of the upgrade or re-design … additionally, the updated project database at the provider-side that includes changes as part of the upgrade project or re-design may further be exported back to the customer-side database when it is time to execute the upgrade project or re-design, Para. [0034] of LIEBL; See also supervisory control system and database 402 (and/or supervisory control system and database 150) may implement a graphical update interface 414 configured to receive layout updates of IGUs, controllers, sensors, etc., Para. [0061] of LIEBL). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the construction/building database management method of KAMAT with the construction/building database management method of LIEBL [to arrive at the claimed features] for the purpose of accommodating a different set of personnel performing on-site installation than a group of personnel that performed the design as part of the up-front configuration (Para. [0026] of LIEBL).
Regarding claim 3, KAMAT discloses a management method executed by a computer (a system for monitoring proximity of objects at a construction jobsite via three-dimensional virtuality in real-time includes a computer readable medium with a non-transient data storage device having instructions thereon for performing several steps, Para. [0007] of KAMAT) configured to transmit and receive information to and from a design database recording coordinates (latitude/longitude, linear units of measurement for coordinates, distance, Para. [0040] of KAMAT and dimensions, Para. [0067] of KAMAT) and design data (CAD data, Paras. [0034], [0035] & [0039] of KAMAT) of construction members constituting a construction object (construction equipment, objects at construction jobsite, Paras. [0035] & [0046] of KAMAT), a measurement database recording measurement data of the construction members (latitude/longitude, linear units of measurement for coordinates, distance, Para. [0040] of KAMAT and dimensions, Para. [0067] of KAMAT), a member database recording member basic data of the construction members (bounding volumes called sphere swept volumes (SSVs) can in some cases give improved performance compared to OBB volumes for proximity queries … in general, SSVs consist of the core primitive shape that is grown outward by some offset, Paras. [0058] & [0059] of KAMAT; [the shape/primitive of an object is interpreted as corresponding to basic [shape] data]), a construction database storing construction data (type of equipment, service dates, owner, tolerance, Paras. [0088] & [0127] of KAMAT) of the construction members (Regarding this limitation, see also: since the sensor and user input 12, 14 update the GIS and CAD data 10 in the simulation and graphics engine 16 in real-time, the HV simulation gives warnings if a pair of objects come within a pre-determined safety threshold, Para. [0034]; [updating data is interpreted as receiving information from and transmitting information to the data source [database]; [CAD data is computer-aided design data, Para. [0034] of KAMAT, which corresponds to design data of construction members (the GIS and CAD data 10 are used to represent a typical construction jobsite, Para. [0035] of KAMAT)]; See also GIS data generally consists of two data parts: a geometry part and an associated attribute part … currently, the GIS data is stored in a single object relational database management system (DBMS) … DBMS model permits ready access to the data and the creation of 3D models of the geometry part of the GIS data … the geometry part is typically in a two-dimensional (2D) form as points, lines, or polygons, Para. [0039] of KAMAT; See also next paragraph: since GIS data represents features on the earth's surface, their locations in a GIS dataset correspond to the earth's coordinates at the locations—that is, latitude and longitude values … this is referred to as a coordinate system and in the case of the earth is called a geographic coordinate system (GCS) … the PCS uses linear units of measurement for coordinates rather than the latitude and longitude values, and hence distance and area calculations can be performed in linear units, Para. [0040] of KAMAT; [the latitude/longitude, PCS linear units of measurement and distance are interpreted as corresponding to measurement data]; See also 3D models' dimensions, such as diameter, are obtained from the attributes of the buried utilities in the GIS database, Para. [0067]; See also Paras. [0077], [0080], [0094], [0095], [0102] and [0113]-[0121] of KAMAT, regarding measurements; See also the B3M framework can create 3D utility models from CAD input data …similar to the approach of treating GIS input, B3M creates a 3D polygon model for every straight line segment in a polyline … this arrangement can ensure that every 3D model created is analogous to its representation in the real-world … unlike GIS, which treats spatial and non-spatial properties seamlessly, CAD can require its attribute data (e.g., shape, size, type, service dates, owner, etc.) to be archived in separate files that are accessed by the 3D modeling framework during creation of models, Para. [0088] of KAMAT; [the attribute data, including type, service dates, owner can be interpreted as corresponding to construction data]; See also types of equipment are hydraulic excavators, backhoe loaders, graders, dump trucks and haulers, Para. [0127] of KAMAT; See also the geometric proximity monitoring framework includes 3D geometry models, position, and orientation updates in order to perform proximity analysis, tolerance checks, and collision detection between a pair of objects or entities, Para. [0091]; [the orientation and tolerance of construction objects is interpreted as construction data]), and a corrected construction plan database (HV simulation can also utilize user input from the real-world to update virtual objects in the scene, Para. [0033] of KAMAT; See also update the GIS and CAD data in real-time, Para. [0034] of KAMAT; See also new scene graphs can be created by combining two or more existing graphs; that is, by adding other scene graphs as child nodes … this enables the creation of a new HV scene from existing scene graph elements, Para. [0049] of KAMAT), comprising: a step (L) of selecting a construction member that is included in the construction database but not in the design database from the construction database via a circuit configured to select a construction member (input options for articulated objects, such as the backhoe excavator 46, can be specified at the time of HV scene creation, Para. [0062] of KAMAT; See also the user input 14 can be used in combination with, or as a replacement for, sensor input to provide commands in order to update the pose of construction equipment in the HV scene for set-up purposes … the user input 14 also updates and advances the HV scene, in particular the 3D models of the construction equipment, Para. [0046] of KAMAT; See also a visualization scheme can be categorized as interactive or fixed … an example interactive visualization is one that allows users to navigate through it, select an element for closer inspection, highlight areas of interest, or view the scene from different viewpoints … in one embodiment, the framework has a visualization scheme that is interactive in nature, allowing users to view attribute data for parts of the network … the display of on-demand attribute data and user-initiated changes to the displayed elements in the scene can call for visualization schemes to be rendered in real-time and at interactive frame rates. … users can also change the transparency so that surface features can be made visible and aid in location on the terrain … users may further interact by selecting a specific utility from a large number of crisscrossed utilities that may be displayed in the scene … the selection could take advantage of attribute data and highlight the utility that a user may be interested in, Para. [0071] of KAMAT); a step (M) of selecting a peripheral member peripheral to the construction member from the design database via a circuit configured to select a peripheral member (CAD objects are used as input for proximity computations and impact detection queries, Para. [0041] of KAMAT; See also monitoring the proximity of construction equipment and buried utilities and other objects relative to each other in order to avoid unintended impact between them, Para. [0003] of KAMAT; See also determining a geometric proximity between the simulated dynamic object of the construction jobsite and the simulated second object of the construction jobsite, Para. [0006] of KAMAT; See also proximity queries compute the minimum distance between a pair of 3D CAD models … these queries are similar to collision queries, Para. [0058] of KAMAT; See also when creating the excavator 18 as an object, a track 20 object should translate and rotate in order to replicate an excavator's track in the real-world … when the track node (transform) is rotated, all of its child nodes--cabin 22, boom 24, stick 26, and bucket 28--also rotate by the same amount, Para. [0049] of KAMAT; [each of the utility lines (“buried utilities”) and child node objects (e.g., cabin, boom, stick, bucket) are interpreted to correspond to peripheral/adjacent (close proximity) objects in relation to the excavator 18 (construction equipment)]; See also input options for articulated objects, such as the backhoe excavator 46, can be specified at the time of HV scene creation, Para. [0062] of KAMAT; See also the user input 14 can be used in combination with, or as a replacement for, sensor input to provide commands in order to update the pose of construction equipment in the HV scene for set-up purposes … the user input 14 also updates and advances the HV scene, in particular the 3D models of the construction equipment, Para. [0046] of KAMAT; See also a visualization scheme can be categorized as interactive or fixed … an example interactive visualization is one that allows users to navigate through it, select an element for closer inspection, highlight areas of interest, or view the scene from different viewpoints … in one embodiment, the framework has a visualization scheme that is interactive in nature, allowing users to view attribute data for parts of the network … the display of on-demand attribute data and user-initiated changes to the displayed elements in the scene can call for visualization schemes to be rendered in real-time and at interactive frame rates. … users can also change the transparency so that surface features can be made visible and aid in location on the terrain … users may further interact by selecting a specific utility from a large number of crisscrossed utilities that may be displayed in the scene … the selection could take advantage of attribute data and highlight the utility that a user may be interested in, Para. [0071] of KAMAT; [In addition, Applicant’s specification, at Para. [0038], appears to indicate that the “selecting” of a peripheral object may correspond to extracting a peripheral object peripheral to the construction member based on coordinates and shape (i.e., proximity or collision detection discussed above)]); a step (N) of creating a measurement model of the peripheral member based on measurement data in the measurement database via a circuit configured to create a measurement model (the data for utility lines such as pipes and conduits can be in the form of lines and polylines … this 2D data may not necessarily be representative of the buried utilities in the real-world … moreover, the data may not be suitable in some collision detection and proximity computations due to the lack of geometric primitives such as triangles and quads … thus, in some instances, the data from GIS databases or CAD drawings can be processed to create accurate 3D models, Para. [0065] of KAMAT; See also creating 3D models of buildings and buried utilities in wireframe and textured with digital images, Para. [0035]; See also modeling framework can take into account any horizontal or vertical offsets, as well as the type of location data being supplied to it, to create 3D utility models that represent the real-world buried utilities most accurately in terms of horizontal and vertical location, shape, and size, Para. [0080] of KAMAT); a step (O) of creating a basic shape model of the construction member from the member basic data in the member database and the construction data in the construction database via a circuit configured to create a basic shape model (the data from GIS databases or CAD drawings can be processed to create accurate 3D models, Para. [0065] of KAMAT; See also creating 3D models of buildings and buried utilities in wireframe and textured with digital images, Para. [0035]; See also modeling framework can take into account any horizontal or vertical offsets, as well as the type of location data being supplied to it, to create 3D utility models that represent the real-world buried utilities most accurately in terms of horizontal and vertical location, shape, and size, Para. [0080] of KAMAT; See also bounding volumes called sphere swept volumes (SSVs) can in some cases give improved performance compared to OBB volumes for proximity queries … in general, SSVs consist of the core primitive shape that is grown outward by some offset, Paras. [0058] & [0059] of KAMAT; [the shape/primitive of an object is interpreted as corresponding to basic [shape] data]; See also DBMS model permits ready access to the data and the creation of 3D models of the geometry part of the GIS data … creating the 3D models from the 2D geometry can ensure that the 3D models have the same spatial attribute and real-world location as the underlying 2D geometry, Para. [0039] of KAMAT; See also 3D models' dimensions, such as diameter, are obtained from the attributes of the buried utilities in the GIS database, Para. [0067]); a step (P) of creating a design corrected model by synthesizing the measurement model and the basic shape model via a circuit configured to create a design corrected model (an HV scene is the aggregation of all articulated object construction equipment, 3D terrain, and GIS and CAD data that are part of the real-world being emulated by the HV scene … hence a complete HV scene is a scene graph that uses existing sub-graphs of articulated objects and other 3D objects set in hierarchical order, Para. [0062] of KAMAT; See also new scene graphs can be created by combining two or more existing graphs; that is, by adding other scene graphs as child nodes … this enables the creation of a new HV scene from existing scene graph elements, Para. [0049] of KAMAT; See also scene consisting of a dump truck and the excavator 18 on a construction jobsite with buried utilities is an example of a typical scene that can be modeled as an HV simulation … in this example, the SAGE 16 receives input in the form of the 3D terrain model of the construction jobsite … the GIS data input for the buried utility and CAD data input for articulated objects represents the dump truck and the excavator 18 … the articulated dump truck and excavator 18 are scene graphs that can be added to the parent scene graph representing the HV scene, Para. [0050] of KAMAT; See also in GIS, utility pipes are typically modeled as polyline features, and utility junctions as point features … shape, size, depth, and other information are treated as utility-specific attributes … a single utility represented as a GIS polyline feature typically consists of a number of straight line segments connected at turning points but represented as a single entity … in the real-world, a utility having bends consists of individual pipe segments that are joined to one another to create an overall single entity … thus a pre-processing step is included in some embodiments to break down GIS polylines into straight line features connected at turning locations prior to 3D modeling … through this step, a 3D utility consists of individual 3D segments and not one single entity … following the pre-processing step, the location, depth, cross-section shape, and dimension can be retrieved from the GIS attributes to create 3D polygon models, Para. [0087]; See also KAMAT citations in the “selecting” limitations above related to user-initiated changes and user interaction/selection); a step (Q) of selecting a construction designated member for which a construction plan is corrected based on the design corrected model via a circuit configured to select a construction designated member for which a construction plan is corrected (CAD equipment models loaded into the SAGE 16 are updated with pose data from the construction jobsite to specify their pose … after the initialization step, the equipment CAD models have poses equivalent to their real-world counterparts, Para. [0051] of KAMAT; See also each sensor on real-world construction equipment updates its corresponding transform in the HV simulation's virtual equipment model, Para. [0053] of KAMAT; See also input options for articulated objects, such as the backhoe excavator 46, can be specified at the time of HV scene creation, Para. [0062] of KAMAT; See also the user input 14 can be used in combination with, or as a replacement for, sensor input to provide commands in order to update the pose of construction equipment in the HV scene for set-up purposes … the user input 14 also updates and advances the HV scene, in particular the 3D models of the construction equipment, Para. [0046] of KAMAT; See also a visualization scheme can be categorized as interactive or fixed … an example interactive visualization is one that allows users to navigate through it, select an element for closer inspection, highlight areas of interest, or view the scene from different viewpoints … in one embodiment, the framework has a visualization scheme that is interactive in nature, allowing users to view attribute data for parts of the network … the display of on-demand attribute data and user-initiated changes to the displayed elements in the scene can call for visualization schemes to be rendered in real-time and at interactive frame rates. … users can also change the transparency so that surface features can be made visible and aid in location on the terrain … users may further interact by selecting a specific utility from a large number of crisscrossed utilities that may be displayed in the scene … the selection could take advantage of attribute data and highlight the utility that a user may be interested in, Para. [0071] of KAMAT); and a step (R) of recording, with respect to the construction designated member, coordinates and a shape of the design corrected model as construction designated member coordinates and a construction designated member shape (georeferencing is the assignment of a location attribute to information … georeferencing is done through systems such as latitude-longitude, projection coordinate systems, and global positioning systems … suitably, all of the information being used in an HV simulation can be the same projected coordinate system and can have the same units … any data having dissimilar georeferencing may not coincide with the rest of the elements in an HV simulation … thus, in one embodiment, the utility data from a given database should have the same datum, projection coordinate system, and units as the terrain model being used for the HV simulation … it has been observed that the 3D models created from GIS data also show the georeferenced property, Para. [0066] of KAMAT; See also the framework uses a common coordinate system with the same units for storing or converting all elements of a scene, such as utilities, terrain, and sensors, Para. [0078] of KAMAT; Regarding the coordinates and shape being recorded, see also: both shape and size data are commonly archived in GIS databases as attribute data, Para. [0079] of KAMAT; See also in addition to shape and size data, it has been determined that in some cases an unambiguous approach is called for when specifying how the utility location data is collected and archived … during the data collection stage, location data is typically collected at every point in which the direction of the utility line changes … using this approach, it is safe to assume that the utility line is a straight line between two successive points when viewed in a 2D planar view … location data collected at every turning point consists of three elements: latitude for horizontal location, longitude for horizontal location, and altitude for vertical location … in the case of buried utility data collection, the altitude element can sometimes be the source of much uncertainty and error … for instance, the elevation data collected can refer to: the elevation of the ground surface; the elevation of the top, middle, or bottom of the buried utility; or any random location on the buried utility … the specific location on the utility structure at which the elevation is obtained should be recorded, Para. [0080] of KAMAT; [latitude and longitude are interpreted as corresponding to coordinates]; See also since GIS data represents features on the earth's surface, their locations in a GIS dataset correspond to the earth's coordinates at the locations—that is, latitude and longitude values … this is referred to as a coordinate system and in the case of the earth is called a geographic coordinate system (GCS), Para. [0040] of KAMAT), and construction content of the construction designated member as construction inspection content, in the corrected construction plan database (any combination of distance, collision, and/or tolerance queries can be instantiated between two entities … tolerance queries can be used to check if a predetermined safety threshold distance has been breached during operation, Para. [0112] of KAMAT; [a safety tolerance is interpreted as corresponding to an inspection content]; [See also Applicant’s specification, at Para. [0029], regarding “[c]onstruction content” includes “acceptable error”, which is interpreted as corresponding to tolerance]), wherein the construction database includes at least information regarding construction items, members related to construction and construction content (the graphical database is analyzed for proximity as well as impacts between entities … results from the analysis can be used to trigger audio-visual warnings to notify the operator with vital information such as: 1) proximity of excavator's digging implement to buried utility; 2) breach of safety threshold; and 3) impending impact, Para. [0092] of KAMAT; [the graphical database is interpreted as corresponding to a construction database, the position/proximity of excavator’s digging implement is interpreted as information regarding construction items, the buried utility is interpreted as member related to construction and the safety threshold is interpreted as construction content]; See also tolerance queries can be used to check if a predetermined safety threshold distance has been breached during operation, Para. [0112] of KAMAT; [a safety tolerance is interpreted as corresponding to an inspection content]; [See also Applicant’s specification, at Para. [0029], regarding “[c]onstruction content” includes “acceptable error”, which is interpreted as corresponding to tolerance]), and wherein the measurement database (the GIS data is stored in a single object relational database management system (DBMS), Para. [0039] of KAMAT; See also GIS database, Para. [0099] of KAMAT), and the construction database (the graphical database, Para. [0092] of KAMAT) are provided independently (pose is updated in real-time and maintains the fidelity of the database, Para. [0101] of KAMAT).
KAMAT does not appear to explicitly disclose wherein the design database and the corrected construction plan database are provided independently.
LIEBL, however, is in the same field of updating databases at an installation/construction location (Abstract of LIEBL) and discloses wherein the design database and the corrected construction plan database are provided independently (future upgrades or design changes may be designed on the provider-side, wherein a current version of the project database at the provider-side is updated as part of the upgrade or re-design … additionally, the updated project database at the provider-side that includes changes as part of the upgrade project or re-design may further be exported back to the customer-side database when it is time to execute the upgrade project or re-design, Para. [0034] of LIEBL; See also supervisory control system and database 402 (and/or supervisory control system and database 150) may implement a graphical update interface 414 configured to receive layout updates of IGUs, controllers, sensors, etc., Para. [0061] of LIEBL). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the construction/building database management method of KAMAT with the construction/building database management method of LIEBL [to arrive at the claimed features] for the purpose of accommodating a different set of personnel performing on-site installation than a group of personnel that performed the design as part of the up-front configuration (Para. [0026] of LIEBL).
Regarding claim 8, KAMAT discloses a management system comprising: a design database recording coordinates (latitude/longitude, linear units of measurement for coordinates, distance, Para. [0040] of KAMAT and dimensions, Para. [0067] of KAMAT) and design data (CAD data, Paras. [0034], [0035] & [0039] of KAMAT) of construction members constituting a construction object (construction equipment, objects at construction jobsite, Paras. [0035] & [0046] of KAMAT); a measurement database recording measurement data of the construction members (latitude/longitude, linear units of measurement for coordinates, distance, Para. [0040] of KAMAT and dimensions, Para. [0067] of KAMAT); a construction database storing construction data (type of equipment, service dates, owner, tolerance, Paras. [0088] & [0127] of KAMAT) of the construction members (Regarding this limitation, see also: since the sensor and user input 12, 14 update the GIS and CAD data 10 in the simulation and graphics engine 16 in real-time, the HV simulation gives warnings if a pair of objects come within a pre-determined safety threshold, Para. [0034]; [updating data is interpreted as receiving information from and transmitting information to the data source [database]; [CAD data is computer-aided design data, Para. [0034] of KAMAT, which corresponds to design data of construction members (the GIS and CAD data 10 are used to represent a typical construction jobsite, Para. [0035] of KAMAT)]; See also GIS data generally consists of two data parts: a geometry part and an associated attribute part … currently, the GIS data is stored in a single object relational database management system (DBMS) … DBMS model permits ready access to the data and the creation of 3D models of the geometry part of the GIS data … the geometry part is typically in a two-dimensional (2D) form as points, lines, or polygons, Para. [0039] of KAMAT; See also next paragraph: since GIS data represents features on the earth's surface, their locations in a GIS dataset correspond to the earth's coordinates at the locations—that is, latitude and longitude values … this is referred to as a coordinate system and in the case of the earth is called a geographic coordinate system (GCS) … the PCS uses linear units of measurement for coordinates rather than the latitude and longitude values, and hence distance and area calculations can be performed in linear units, Para. [0040] of KAMAT; [the latitude/longitude, PCS linear units of measurement and distance are interpreted as corresponding to measurement data]; See also 3D models' dimensions, such as diameter, are obtained from the attributes of the buried utilities in the GIS database, Para. [0067]; See also Paras. [0077], [0080], [0094], [0095], [0102] and [0113]-[0121] of KAMAT, regarding measurements; See also the B3M framework can create 3D utility models from CAD input data …similar to the approach of treating GIS input, B3M creates a 3D polygon model for every straight line segment in a polyline … this arrangement can ensure that every 3D model created is analogous to its representation in the real-world … unlike GIS, which treats spatial and non-spatial properties seamlessly, CAD can require its attribute data (e.g., shape, size, type, service dates, owner, etc.) to be archived in separate files that are accessed by the 3D modeling framework during creation of models, Para. [0088] of KAMAT; [the attribute data, including type, service dates, owner can be interpreted as corresponding to construction data]; See also types of equipment are hydraulic excavators, backhoe loaders, graders, dump trucks and haulers, Para. [0127] of KAMAT; See also the geometric proximity monitoring framework includes 3D geometry models, position, and orientation updates in order to perform proximity analysis, tolerance checks, and collision detection between a pair of objects or entities, Para. [0091]; [the orientation and tolerance of construction objects is interpreted as construction data]); a corrected construction plan database recording a corrected construction plan (HV simulation can also utilize user input from the real-world to update virtual objects in the scene, Para. [0033] of KAMAT; See also update the GIS and CAD data in real-time, Para. [0034] of KAMAT; See also new scene graphs can be created by combining two or more existing graphs; that is, by adding other scene graphs as child nodes … this enables the creation of a new HV scene from existing scene graph elements, Para. [0049] of KAMAT); a construction member selecting circuit configured to select a construction member from the construction database (input options for articulated objects, such as the backhoe excavator 46, can be specified at the time of HV scene creation, Para. [0062] of KAMAT; See also the user input 14 can be used in combination with, or as a replacement for, sensor input to provide commands in order to update the pose of construction equipment in the HV scene for set-up purposes … the user input 14 also updates and advances the HV scene, in particular the 3D models of the construction equipment, Para. [0046] of KAMAT; See also a visualization scheme can be categorized as interactive or fixed … an example interactive visualization is one that allows users to navigate through it, select an element for closer inspection, highlight areas of interest, or view the scene from different viewpoints … in one embodiment, the framework has a visualization scheme that is interactive in nature, allowing users to view attribute data for parts of the network … the display of on-demand attribute data and user-initiated changes to the displayed elements in the scene can call for visualization schemes to be rendered in real-time and at interactive frame rates. … users can also change the transparency so that surface features can be made visible and aid in location on the terrain … users may further interact by selecting a specific utility from a large number of crisscrossed utilities that may be displayed in the scene … the selection could take advantage of attribute data and highlight the utility that a user may be interested in, Para. [0071] of KAMAT); a peripheral member selecting circuit configured to select a peripheral member peripheral to the construction member from the design database (CAD objects are used as input for proximity computations and impact detection queries, Para. [0041] of KAMAT; See also monitoring the proximity of construction equipment and buried utilities and other objects relative to each other in order to avoid unintended impact between them, Para. [0003] of KAMAT; See also determining a geometric proximity between the simulated dynamic object of the construction jobsite and the simulated second object of the construction jobsite, Para. [0006] of KAMAT; See also proximity queries compute the minimum distance between a pair of 3D CAD models … these queries are similar to collision queries, Para. [0058] of KAMAT; See also when creating the excavator 18 as an object, a track 20 object should translate and rotate in order to replicate an excavator's track in the real-world … when the track node (transform) is rotated, all of its child nodes--cabin 22, boom 24, stick 26, and bucket 28--also rotate by the same amount, Para. [0049] of KAMAT; [each of the utility lines (“buried utilities”) and child node objects (e.g., cabin, boom, stick, bucket) are interpreted to correspond to peripheral/adjacent (close proximity) objects in relation to the excavator 18 (construction equipment)]; See also input options for articulated objects, such as the backhoe excavator 46, can be specified at the time of HV scene creation, Para. [0062] of KAMAT; See also the user input 14 can be used in combination with, or as a replacement for, sensor input to provide commands in order to update the pose of construction equipment in the HV scene for set-up purposes … the user input 14 also updates and advances the HV scene, in particular the 3D models of the construction equipment, Para. [0046] of KAMAT; See also a visualization scheme can be categorized as interactive or fixed … an example interactive visualization is one that allows users to navigate through it, select an element for closer inspection, highlight areas of interest, or view the scene from different viewpoints … in one embodiment, the framework has a visualization scheme that is interactive in nature, allowing users to view attribute data for parts of the network … the display of on-demand attribute data and user-initiated changes to the displayed elements in the scene can call for visualization schemes to be rendered in real-time and at interactive frame rates. … users can also change the transparency so that surface features can be made visible and aid in location on the terrain … users may further interact by selecting a specific utility from a large number of crisscrossed utilities that may be displayed in the scene … the selection could take advantage of attribute data and highlight the utility that a user may be interested in, Para. [0071] of KAMAT; [In addition, Applicant’s specification, at Para. [0038], appears to indicate that the “selecting” of a peripheral object may correspond to extracting a peripheral object peripheral to the construction member based on coordinates and shape (i.e., proximity or collision detection discussed above)]); a model creating circuit configured to create a design model of the construction member from the design data of the construction member (creating 3D models of buildings and buried utilities in wireframe and textured with digital images, Para. [0035]; See also DBMS model permits ready access to the data and the creation of 3D models of the geometry part of the GIS data … creating the 3D models from the 2D geometry can ensure that the 3D models have the same spatial attribute and real-world location as the underlying 2D geometry., Para. [0039] of KAMAT), and a measurement model of the peripheral member (the data for utility lines such as pipes and conduits can be in the form of lines and polylines … this 2D data may not necessarily be representative of the buried utilities in the real-world … moreover, the data may not be suitable in some collision detection and proximity computations due to the lack of geometric primitives such as triangles and quads … thus, in some instances, the data from GIS databases or CAD drawings can be processed to create accurate 3D models, Para. [0065] of KAMAT; See also creating 3D models of buildings and buried utilities in wireframe and textured with digital images, Para. [0035]; See also modeling framework can take into account any horizontal or vertical offsets, as well as the type of location data being supplied to it, to create 3D utility models that represent the real-world buried utilities most accurately in terms of horizontal and vertical location, shape, and size, Para. [0080] of KAMAT) from the measurement data of the peripheral member (3D models' dimensions, such as diameter, are obtained from the attributes of the buried utilities in the GIS database, Para. [0067]); a corrected model creating circuit configured to create a design corrected model by synthesizing the design model and the measurement model (an HV scene is the aggregation of all articulated object construction equipment, 3D terrain, and GIS and CAD data that are part of the real-world being emulated by the HV scene … hence a complete HV scene is a scene graph that uses existing sub-graphs of articulated objects and other 3D objects set in hierarchical order, Para. [0062] of KAMAT; See also new scene graphs can be created by combining two or more existing graphs; that is, by adding other scene graphs as child nodes … this enables the creation of a new HV scene from existing scene graph elements, Para. [0049] of KAMAT; See also scene consisting of a dump truck and the excavator 18 on a construction jobsite with buried utilities is an example of a typical scene that can be modeled as an HV simulation … in this example, the SAGE 16 receives input in the form of the 3D terrain model of the construction jobsite … the GIS data input for the buried utility and CAD data input for articulated objects represents the dump truck and the excavator 18 … the articulated dump truck and excavator 18 are scene graphs that can be added to the parent scene graph representing the HV scene, Para. [0050] of KAMAT; See also in GIS, utility pipes are typically modeled as polyline features, and utility junctions as point features … shape, size, depth, and other information are treated as utility-specific attributes … a single utility represented as a GIS polyline feature typically consists of a number of straight line segments connected at turning points but represented as a single entity … in the real-world, a utility having bends consists of individual pipe segments that are joined to one another to create an overall single entity … thus a pre-processing step is included in some embodiments to break down GIS polylines into straight line features connected at turning locations prior to 3D modeling … through this step, a 3D utility consists of individual 3D segments and not one single entity … following the pre-processing step, the location, depth, cross-section shape, and dimension can be retrieved from the GIS attributes to create 3D polygon models, Para. [0087]; See also KAMAT citations in the “selecting” limitations above related to user-initiated changes and user interaction/selection); and a corrected construction plan creating circuit configured to select a construction designated member for which a construction plan is corrected based on the design corrected model (CAD equipment models loaded into the SAGE 16 are updated with pose data from the construction jobsite to specify their pose … after the initialization step, the equipment CAD models have poses equivalent to their real-world counterparts, Para. [0051] of KAMAT; See also each sensor on real-world construction equipment updates its corresponding transform in the HV simulation's virtual equipment model, Para. [0053] of KAMAT; See also input options for articulated objects, such as the backhoe excavator 46, can be specified at the time of HV scene creation, Para. [0062] of KAMAT; See also the user input 14 can be used in combination with, or as a replacement for, sensor input to provide commands in order to update the pose of construction equipment in the HV scene for set-up purposes … the user input 14 also updates and advances the HV scene, in particular the 3D models of the construction equipment, Para. [0046] of KAMAT; See also a visualization scheme can be categorized as interactive or fixed … an example interactive visualization is one that allows users to navigate through it, select an element for closer inspection, highlight areas of interest, or view the scene from different viewpoints … in one embodiment, the framework has a visualization scheme that is interactive in nature, allowing users to view attribute data for parts of the network … the display of on-demand attribute data and user-initiated changes to the displayed elements in the scene can call for visualization schemes to be rendered in real-time and at interactive frame rates. … users can also change the transparency so that surface features can be made visible and aid in location on the terrain … users may further interact by selecting a specific utility from a large number of crisscrossed utilities that may be displayed in the scene … the selection could take advantage of attribute data and highlight the utility that a user may be interested in, Para. [0071] of KAMAT), and record, with respect to the construction designated member, coordinates and a shape of the design corrected model as construction designated member coordinates and a construction designated member shape (georeferencing is the assignment of a location attribute to information … georeferencing is done through systems such as latitude-longitude, projection coordinate systems, and global positioning systems … suitably, all of the information being used in an HV simulation can be the same projected coordinate system and can have the same units … any data having dissimilar georeferencing may not coincide with the rest of the elements in an HV simulation … thus, in one embodiment, the utility data from a given database should have the same datum, projection coordinate system, and units as the terrain model being used for the HV simulation … it has been observed that the 3D models created from GIS data also show the georeferenced property, Para. [0066] of KAMAT; See also the framework uses a common coordinate system with the same units for storing or converting all elements of a scene, such as utilities, terrain, and sensors, Para. [0078] of KAMAT; Regarding the coordinates and shape being recorded, see also: both shape and size data are commonly archived in GIS databases as attribute data, Para. [0079] of KAMAT; See also in addition to shape and size data, it has been determined that in some cases an unambiguous approach is called for when specifying how the utility location data is collected and archived … during the data collection stage, location data is typically collected at every point in which the direction of the utility line changes … using this approach, it is safe to assume that the utility line is a straight line between two successive points when viewed in a 2D planar view … location data collected at every turning point consists of three elements: latitude for horizontal location, longitude for horizontal location, and altitude for vertical location … in the case of buried utility data collection, the altitude element can sometimes be the source of much uncertainty and error … for instance, the elevation data collected can refer to: the elevation of the ground surface; the elevation of the top, middle, or bottom of the buried utility; or any random location on the buried utility … the specific location on the utility structure at which the elevation is obtained should be recorded, Para. [0080] of KAMAT; [latitude and longitude are interpreted as corresponding to coordinates]; See also since GIS data represents features on the earth's surface, their locations in a GIS dataset correspond to the earth's coordinates at the locations—that is, latitude and longitude values … this is referred to as a coordinate system and in the case of the earth is called a geographic coordinate system (GCS), Para. [0040] of KAMAT), and construction content of the construction designated member as construction inspection content, in a corrected construction plan database (any combination of distance, collision, and/or tolerance queries can be instantiated between two entities … tolerance queries can be used to check if a predetermined safety threshold distance has been breached during operation, Para. [0112] of KAMAT; [a safety tolerance is interpreted as corresponding to an inspection content]; [See also Applicant’s specification, at Para. [0029], regarding “[c]onstruction content” includes “acceptable error”, which is interpreted as corresponding to tolerance]), and a computer (a system for monitoring proximity of objects at a construction jobsite via three-dimensional virtuality in real-time includes a computer readable medium with a non-transient data storage device having instructions thereon for performing several steps, Para. [0007] of KAMAT) configured to transmit and receive information to and from each of the databases and each of the circuits (latitude/longitude, linear units of measurement for coordinates, distance, Para. [0040] of KAMAT and dimensions, Para. [0067] of KAMAT); wherein the construction database includes at least information regarding construction items, members related to construction and construction content (the graphical database is analyzed for proximity as well as impacts between entities … results from the analysis can be used to trigger audio-visual warnings to notify the operator with vital information such as: 1) proximity of excavator's digging implement to buried utility; 2) breach of safety threshold; and 3) impending impact, Para. [0092] of KAMAT; [the graphical database is interpreted as corresponding to a construction database, the position/proximity of excavator’s digging implement is interpreted as information regarding construction items, the buried utility is interpreted as member related to construction and the safety threshold is interpreted as construction content]; See also tolerance queries can be used to check if a predetermined safety threshold distance has been breached during operation, Para. [0112] of KAMAT; [a safety tolerance is interpreted as corresponding to an inspection content]; [See also Applicant’s specification, at Para. [0029], regarding “[c]onstruction content” includes “acceptable error”, which is interpreted as corresponding to tolerance]), and wherein the design database (the GIS data is stored in a single object relational database management system (DBMS), Para. [0039] of KAMAT; See also GIS database, Para. [0099] of KAMAT), and the construction database (the graphical database, Para. [0092] of KAMAT) are provided independently (pose is updated in real-time and maintains the fidelity of the database, Para. [0101] of KAMAT).
KAMAT does not appear to explicitly disclose wherein the design database and the corrected construction plan database are provided independently.
LIEBL, however, is in the same field of updating databases at an installation/construction location (Abstract of LIEBL) and discloses wherein the design database and the corrected construction plan database are provided independently (future upgrades or design changes may be designed on the provider-side, wherein a current version of the project database at the provider-side is updated as part of the upgrade or re-design … additionally, the updated project database at the provider-side that includes changes as part of the upgrade project or re-design may further be exported back to the customer-side database when it is time to execute the upgrade project or re-design, Para. [0034] of LIEBL; See also supervisory control system and database 402 (and/or supervisory control system and database 150) may implement a graphical update interface 414 configured to receive layout updates of IGUs, controllers, sensors, etc., Para. [0061] of LIEBL). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the construction/building database management method of KAMAT with the construction/building database management method of LIEBL [to arrive at the claimed features] for the purpose of accommodating a different set of personnel performing on-site installation than a group of personnel that performed the design as part of the up-front configuration (Para. [0026] of LIEBL).
Regarding claim 10, KAMAT discloses a management system comprising: a design database recording design data (CAD data, Paras. [0034], [0035] & [0039] of KAMAT) of construction members constituting a construction object (construction equipment, objects at construction jobsite, Paras. [0035] & [0046] of KAMAT); a measurement database recording measurement data of the construction members (latitude/longitude, linear units of measurement for coordinates, distance, Para. [0040] of KAMAT and dimensions, Para. [0067] of KAMAT); a member database recording member basic data of the construction members (bounding volumes called sphere swept volumes (SSVs) can in some cases give improved performance compared to OBB volumes for proximity queries … in general, SSVs consist of the core primitive shape that is grown outward by some offset, Paras. [0058] & [0059] of KAMAT; [the shape/primitive of an object is interpreted as corresponding to basic [shape] data]); a construction database storing construction data (type of equipment, service dates, owner, tolerance, Paras. [0088] & [0127] of KAMAT) of the construction members (Regarding this limitation, see also: since the sensor and user input 12, 14 update the GIS and CAD data 10 in the simulation and graphics engine 16 in real-time, the HV simulation gives warnings if a pair of objects come within a pre-determined safety threshold, Para. [0034]; [updating data is interpreted as receiving information from and transmitting information to the data source [database]; [CAD data is computer-aided design data, Para. [0034] of KAMAT, which corresponds to design data of construction members (the GIS and CAD data 10 are used to represent a typical construction jobsite, Para. [0035] of KAMAT)]; See also GIS data generally consists of two data parts: a geometry part and an associated attribute part … currently, the GIS data is stored in a single object relational database management system (DBMS) … DBMS model permits ready access to the data and the creation of 3D models of the geometry part of the GIS data … the geometry part is typically in a two-dimensional (2D) form as points, lines, or polygons, Para. [0039] of KAMAT; See also next paragraph: since GIS data represents features on the earth's surface, their locations in a GIS dataset correspond to the earth's coordinates at the locations—that is, latitude and longitude values … this is referred to as a coordinate system and in the case of the earth is called a geographic coordinate system (GCS) … the PCS uses linear units of measurement for coordinates rather than the latitude and longitude values, and hence distance and area calculations can be performed in linear units, Para. [0040] of KAMAT; [the latitude/longitude, PCS linear units of measurement and distance are interpreted as corresponding to measurement data]; See also 3D models' dimensions, such as diameter, are obtained from the attributes of the buried utilities in the GIS database, Para. [0067]; See also Paras. [0077], [0080], [0094], [0095], [0102] and [0113]-[0121] of KAMAT, regarding measurements; See also the B3M framework can create 3D utility models from CAD input data …similar to the approach of treating GIS input, B3M creates a 3D polygon model for every straight line segment in a polyline … this arrangement can ensure that every 3D model created is analogous to its representation in the real-world … unlike GIS, which treats spatial and non-spatial properties seamlessly, CAD can require its attribute data (e.g., shape, size, type, service dates, owner, etc.) to be archived in separate files that are accessed by the 3D modeling framework during creation of models, Para. [0088] of KAMAT; [the attribute data, including type, service dates, owner can be interpreted as corresponding to construction data]; See also types of equipment are hydraulic excavators, backhoe loaders, graders, dump trucks and haulers, Para. [0127] of KAMAT; See also the geometric proximity monitoring framework includes 3D geometry models, position, and orientation updates in order to perform proximity analysis, tolerance checks, and collision detection between a pair of objects or entities, Para. [0091]; [the orientation and tolerance of construction objects is interpreted as construction data]); a corrected construction plan database recording a corrected construction plan (HV simulation can also utilize user input from the real-world to update virtual objects in the scene, Para. [0033] of KAMAT; See also update the GIS and CAD data in real-time, Para. [0034] of KAMAT; See also new scene graphs can be created by combining two or more existing graphs; that is, by adding other scene graphs as child nodes … this enables the creation of a new HV scene from existing scene graph elements, Para. [0049] of KAMAT); a construction member selecting circuit configured to select a construction member that is included in the construction database but not in the design database from the construction database (input options for articulated objects, such as the backhoe excavator 46, can be specified at the time of HV scene creation, Para. [0062] of KAMAT; See also the user input 14 can be used in combination with, or as a replacement for, sensor input to provide commands in order to update the pose of construction equipment in the HV scene for set-up purposes … the user input 14 also updates and advances the HV scene, in particular the 3D models of the construction equipment, Para. [0046] of KAMAT; See also a visualization scheme can be categorized as interactive or fixed … an example interactive visualization is one that allows users to navigate through it, select an element for closer inspection, highlight areas of interest, or view the scene from different viewpoints … in one embodiment, the framework has a visualization scheme that is interactive in nature, allowing users to view attribute data for parts of the network … the display of on-demand attribute data and user-initiated changes to the displayed elements in the scene can call for visualization schemes to be rendered in real-time and at interactive frame rates. … users can also change the transparency so that surface features can be made visible and aid in location on the terrain … users may further interact by selecting a specific utility from a large number of crisscrossed utilities that may be displayed in the scene … the selection could take advantage of attribute data and highlight the utility that a user may be interested in, Para. [0071] of KAMAT); a peripheral member selecting circuit configured to select a peripheral member peripheral to the construction member from the design database (CAD objects are used as input for proximity computations and impact detection queries, Para. [0041] of KAMAT; See also monitoring the proximity of construction equipment and buried utilities and other objects relative to each other in order to avoid unintended impact between them, Para. [0003] of KAMAT; See also determining a geometric proximity between the simulated dynamic object of the construction jobsite and the simulated second object of the construction jobsite, Para. [0006] of KAMAT; See also proximity queries compute the minimum distance between a pair of 3D CAD models … these queries are similar to collision queries, Para. [0058] of KAMAT; See also when creating the excavator 18 as an object, a track 20 object should translate and rotate in order to replicate an excavator's track in the real-world … when the track node (transform) is rotated, all of its child nodes--cabin 22, boom 24, stick 26, and bucket 28--also rotate by the same amount, Para. [0049] of KAMAT; [each of the utility lines (“buried utilities”) and child node objects (e.g., cabin, boom, stick, bucket) are interpreted to correspond to peripheral/adjacent (close proximity) objects in relation to the excavator 18 (construction equipment)]; See also input options for articulated objects, such as the backhoe excavator 46, can be specified at the time of HV scene creation, Para. [0062] of KAMAT; See also the user input 14 can be used in combination with, or as a replacement for, sensor input to provide commands in order to update the pose of construction equipment in the HV scene for set-up purposes … the user input 14 also updates and advances the HV scene, in particular the 3D models of the construction equipment, Para. [0046] of KAMAT; See also a visualization scheme can be categorized as interactive or fixed … an example interactive visualization is one that allows users to navigate through it, select an element for closer inspection, highlight areas of interest, or view the scene from different viewpoints … in one embodiment, the framework has a visualization scheme that is interactive in nature, allowing users to view attribute data for parts of the network … the display of on-demand attribute data and user-initiated changes to the displayed elements in the scene can call for visualization schemes to be rendered in real-time and at interactive frame rates. … users can also change the transparency so that surface features can be made visible and aid in location on the terrain … users may further interact by selecting a specific utility from a large number of crisscrossed utilities that may be displayed in the scene … the selection could take advantage of attribute data and highlight the utility that a user may be interested in, Para. [0071] of KAMAT; [In addition, Applicant’s specification, at Para. [0038], appears to indicate that the “selecting” of a peripheral object may correspond to extracting a peripheral object peripheral to the construction member based on coordinates and shape (i.e., proximity or collision detection discussed above)]); a model creating circuit configured to create a measurement model of the peripheral member based on the measurement data in the measurement database (the data for utility lines such as pipes and conduits can be in the form of lines and polylines … this 2D data may not necessarily be representative of the buried utilities in the real-world … moreover, the data may not be suitable in some collision detection and proximity computations due to the lack of geometric primitives such as triangles and quads … thus, in some instances, the data from GIS databases or CAD drawings can be processed to create accurate 3D models, Para. [0065] of KAMAT; See also creating 3D models of buildings and buried utilities in wireframe and textured with digital images, Para. [0035]; See also modeling framework can take into account any horizontal or vertical offsets, as well as the type of location data being supplied to it, to create 3D utility models that represent the real-world buried utilities most accurately in terms of horizontal and vertical location, shape, and size, Para. [0080] of KAMAT); a basic shape model creating circuit configured to create a basic shape model of the construction member from the member basic data in the member database and the construction data in the construction database (the data from GIS databases or CAD drawings can be processed to create accurate 3D models, Para. [0065] of KAMAT; See also creating 3D models of buildings and buried utilities in wireframe and textured with digital images, Para. [0035]; See also modeling framework can take into account any horizontal or vertical offsets, as well as the type of location data being supplied to it, to create 3D utility models that represent the real-world buried utilities most accurately in terms of horizontal and vertical location, shape, and size, Para. [0080] of KAMAT; See also bounding volumes called sphere swept volumes (SSVs) can in some cases give improved performance compared to OBB volumes for proximity queries … in general, SSVs consist of the core primitive shape that is grown outward by some offset, Paras. [0058] & [0059] of KAMAT; [the shape/primitive of an object is interpreted as corresponding to basic [shape] data]; See also DBMS model permits ready access to the data and the creation of 3D models of the geometry part of the GIS data … creating the 3D models from the 2D geometry can ensure that the 3D models have the same spatial attribute and real-world location as the underlying 2D geometry, Para. [0039] of KAMAT; See also 3D models' dimensions, such as diameter, are obtained from the attributes of the buried utilities in the GIS database, Para. [0067]); a corrected model creating circuit configured to create a design corrected model by synthesizing the measurement model and the basic shape model (an HV scene is the aggregation of all articulated object construction equipment, 3D terrain, and GIS and CAD data that are part of the real-world being emulated by the HV scene … hence a complete HV scene is a scene graph that uses existing sub-graphs of articulated objects and other 3D objects set in hierarchical order, Para. [0062] of KAMAT; See also new scene graphs can be created by combining two or more existing graphs; that is, by adding other scene graphs as child nodes … this enables the creation of a new HV scene from existing scene graph elements, Para. [0049] of KAMAT; See also scene consisting of a dump truck and the excavator 18 on a construction jobsite with buried utilities is an example of a typical scene that can be modeled as an HV simulation … in this example, the SAGE 16 receives input in the form of the 3D terrain model of the construction jobsite … the GIS data input for the buried utility and CAD data input for articulated objects represents the dump truck and the excavator 18 … the articulated dump truck and excavator 18 are scene graphs that can be added to the parent scene graph representing the HV scene, Para. [0050] of KAMAT; See also in GIS, utility pipes are typically modeled as polyline features, and utility junctions as point features … shape, size, depth, and other information are treated as utility-specific attributes … a single utility represented as a GIS polyline feature typically consists of a number of straight line segments connected at turning points but represented as a single entity … in the real-world, a utility having bends consists of individual pipe segments that are joined to one another to create an overall single entity … thus a pre-processing step is included in some embodiments to break down GIS polylines into straight line features connected at turning locations prior to 3D modeling … through this step, a 3D utility consists of individual 3D segments and not one single entity … following the pre-processing step, the location, depth, cross-section shape, and dimension can be retrieved from the GIS attributes to create 3D polygon models, Para. [0087]; See also KAMAT citations in the “selecting” limitations above related to user-initiated changes and user interaction/selection); and a corrected construction plan creating circuit configured to select a construction designated member for which a construction plan is corrected based on the design corrected model (CAD equipment models loaded into the SAGE 16 are updated with pose data from the construction jobsite to specify their pose … after the initialization step, the equipment CAD models have poses equivalent to their real-world counterparts, Para. [0051] of KAMAT; See also each sensor on real-world construction equipment updates its corresponding transform in the HV simulation's virtual equipment model, Para. [0053] of KAMAT; See also input options for articulated objects, such as the backhoe excavator 46, can be specified at the time of HV scene creation, Para. [0062] of KAMAT; See also the user input 14 can be used in combination with, or as a replacement for, sensor input to provide commands in order to update the pose of construction equipment in the HV scene for set-up purposes … the user input 14 also updates and advances the HV scene, in particular the 3D models of the construction equipment, Para. [0046] of KAMAT; See also a visualization scheme can be categorized as interactive or fixed … an example interactive visualization is one that allows users to navigate through it, select an element for closer inspection, highlight areas of interest, or view the scene from different viewpoints … in one embodiment, the framework has a visualization scheme that is interactive in nature, allowing users to view attribute data for parts of the network … the display of on-demand attribute data and user-initiated changes to the displayed elements in the scene can call for visualization schemes to be rendered in real-time and at interactive frame rates. … users can also change the transparency so that surface features can be made visible and aid in location on the terrain … users may further interact by selecting a specific utility from a large number of crisscrossed utilities that may be displayed in the scene … the selection could take advantage of attribute data and highlight the utility that a user may be interested in, Para. [0071] of KAMAT), and record, with respect to the construction designated member, coordinates and a shape of the design corrected model as construction designated member coordinates and a construction designated member shape (georeferencing is the assignment of a location attribute to information … georeferencing is done through systems such as latitude-longitude, projection coordinate systems, and global positioning systems … suitably, all of the information being used in an HV simulation can be the same projected coordinate system and can have the same units … any data having dissimilar georeferencing may not coincide with the rest of the elements in an HV simulation … thus, in one embodiment, the utility data from a given database should have the same datum, projection coordinate system, and units as the terrain model being used for the HV simulation … it has been observed that the 3D models created from GIS data also show the georeferenced property, Para. [0066] of KAMAT; See also the framework uses a common coordinate system with the same units for storing or converting all elements of a scene, such as utilities, terrain, and sensors, Para. [0078] of KAMAT; Regarding the coordinates and shape being recorded, see also: both shape and size data are commonly archived in GIS databases as attribute data, Para. [0079] of KAMAT; See also in addition to shape and size data, it has been determined that in some cases an unambiguous approach is called for when specifying how the utility location data is collected and archived … during the data collection stage, location data is typically collected at every point in which the direction of the utility line changes … using this approach, it is safe to assume that the utility line is a straight line between two successive points when viewed in a 2D planar view … location data collected at every turning point consists of three elements: latitude for horizontal location, longitude for horizontal location, and altitude for vertical location … in the case of buried utility data collection, the altitude element can sometimes be the source of much uncertainty and error … for instance, the elevation data collected can refer to: the elevation of the ground surface; the elevation of the top, middle, or bottom of the buried utility; or any random location on the buried utility … the specific location on the utility structure at which the elevation is obtained should be recorded, Para. [0080] of KAMAT; [latitude and longitude are interpreted as corresponding to coordinates]; See also since GIS data represents features on the earth's surface, their locations in a GIS dataset correspond to the earth's coordinates at the locations—that is, latitude and longitude values … this is referred to as a coordinate system and in the case of the earth is called a geographic coordinate system (GCS), Para. [0040] of KAMAT), and construction content of the construction designated member as construction inspection content, in the corrected construction plan database (any combination of distance, collision, and/or tolerance queries can be instantiated between two entities … tolerance queries can be used to check if a predetermined safety threshold distance has been breached during operation, Para. [0112] of KAMAT; [a safety tolerance is interpreted as corresponding to an inspection content]; [See also Applicant’s specification, at Para. [0029], regarding “[c]onstruction content” includes “acceptable error”, which is interpreted as corresponding to tolerance]), and a computer (a system for monitoring proximity of objects at a construction jobsite via three-dimensional virtuality in real-time includes a computer readable medium with a non-transient data storage device having instructions thereon for performing several steps, Para. [0007] of KAMAT) configured to transmit and receive information to and from each of the databases and each of the circuits (latitude/longitude, linear units of measurement for coordinates, distance, Para. [0040] of KAMAT and dimensions, Para. [0067] of KAMAT); wherein the construction database includes at least information regarding construction items, members related to construction and construction content (the graphical database is analyzed for proximity as well as impacts between entities … results from the analysis can be used to trigger audio-visual warnings to notify the operator with vital information such as: 1) proximity of excavator's digging implement to buried utility; 2) breach of safety threshold; and 3) impending impact, Para. [0092] of KAMAT; [the graphical database is interpreted as corresponding to a construction database, the position/proximity of excavator’s digging implement is interpreted as information regarding construction items, the buried utility is interpreted as member related to construction and the safety threshold is interpreted as construction content]; See also tolerance queries can be used to check if a predetermined safety threshold distance has been breached during operation, Para. [0112] of KAMAT; [a safety tolerance is interpreted as corresponding to an inspection content]; [See also Applicant’s specification, at Para. [0029], regarding “[c]onstruction content” includes “acceptable error”, which is interpreted as corresponding to tolerance]), and wherein the design database (the GIS data is stored in a single object relational database management system (DBMS), Para. [0039] of KAMAT; See also GIS database, Para. [0099] of KAMAT), and the construction database (the graphical database, Para. [0092] of KAMAT) are provided independently (pose is updated in real-time and maintains the fidelity of the database, Para. [0101] of KAMAT).
KAMAT does not appear to explicitly disclose wherein the design database and the corrected construction plan database are provided independently.
LIEBL, however, is in the same field of updating databases at an installation/construction location (Abstract of LIEBL) and discloses wherein the design database and the corrected construction plan database are provided independently (future upgrades or design changes may be designed on the provider-side, wherein a current version of the project database at the provider-side is updated as part of the upgrade or re-design … additionally, the updated project database at the provider-side that includes changes as part of the upgrade project or re-design may further be exported back to the customer-side database when it is time to execute the upgrade project or re-design, Para. [0034] of LIEBL; See also supervisory control system and database 402 (and/or supervisory control system and database 150) may implement a graphical update interface 414 configured to receive layout updates of IGUs, controllers, sensors, etc., Para. [0061] of LIEBL). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the construction/building database management method of KAMAT with the construction/building database management method of LIEBL [to arrive at the claimed features] for the purpose of accommodating a different set of personnel performing on-site installation than a group of personnel that performed the design as part of the up-front configuration (Para. [0026] of LIEBL).
Regarding claim 2, KAMAT as modified by LIEBL discloses the management method according to Claim 1, wherein further, by the computer transmitting and receiving information to and from a member database recording member basic data of the construction members, before step (E), whether the construction member and the peripheral member are movable members is determined by referring to the member database (KAMAT discusses simulating movement of dynamic objects (moveable) and no simulating movement but rather simulating via georeferencing static (unmovable) objects such terrain, Para. [0007] of KAMAT; See also the term “object(s)” encompasses both dynamic and static objects typically found on a construction jobsite such as construction equipment, buried utilities, building structures, and workers, Para. [0030] of KAMAT; See also TABLE 1 of Para. [0037] of KAMAT which includes a determination/indication of static/unmovable (e.g., buildings, trees, rivers, soil, utility pipes, cables, bedrock) or dynamic/movable (e.g., equipment personnel, airplanes, UAVs)), and when at least one of the construction member and the peripheral member is determined to be unmovable, the design corrected model is created in step (E) (another step involves simulating a static object of the construction jobsite with respect to the simulated terrain in the three-dimensional virtual representation of the construction jobsite, the simulation involving georeferencing, Para. [0007]; See also an HV scene is the aggregation of all articulated object construction equipment, 3D terrain, and GIS and CAD data that are part of the real-world being emulated by the HV scene … hence a complete HV scene is a scene graph that uses existing sub-graphs of articulated objects and other 3D objects set in hierarchical order, Para. [0062] of KAMAT; See also new scene graphs can be created by combining two or more existing graphs; that is, by adding other scene graphs as child nodes … this enables the creation of a new HV scene from existing scene graph elements, Para. [0049] of KAMAT; See also scene consisting of a dump truck and the excavator 18 on a construction jobsite with buried utilities is an example of a typical scene that can be modeled as an HV simulation … in this example, the SAGE 16 receives input in the form of the 3D terrain model of the construction jobsite … the GIS data input for the buried utility and CAD data input for articulated objects represents the dump truck and the excavator 18 … the articulated dump truck and excavator 18 are scene graphs that can be added to the parent scene graph representing the HV scene, Para. [0050] of KAMAT; See also in GIS, utility pipes are typically modeled as polyline features, and utility junctions as point features … shape, size, depth, and other information are treated as utility-specific attributes … a single utility represented as a GIS polyline feature typically consists of a number of straight line segments connected at turning points but represented as a single entity … in the real-world, a utility having bends consists of individual pipe segments that are joined to one another to create an overall single entity … thus a pre-processing step is included in some embodiments to break down GIS polylines into straight line features connected at turning locations prior to 3D modeling … through this step, a 3D utility consists of individual 3D segments and not one single entity … following the pre-processing step, the location, depth, cross-section shape, and dimension can be retrieved from the GIS attributes to create 3D polygon models, Para. [0087]; See also KAMAT citations in the “selecting” limitations above related to user-initiated changes and user interaction/selection), and when at least one of the construction member and the peripheral member is determined to be movable (i.e., a dynamic object), movability information of the determined movable member is read from the member database and a movable model of the movable member is created via a circuit configured to create a movable model (excavator model with digging bucket, Para. [0074] of KAMAT), and a design corrected model is created by synthesizing the design model or the measurement model with the movable model via the circuit configured to create a design corrected model (an HV scene is the aggregation of all articulated object construction equipment, 3D terrain, and GIS and CAD data that are part of the real-world being emulated by the HV scene … hence a complete HV scene is a scene graph that uses existing sub-graphs of articulated objects and other 3D objects set in hierarchical order, Para. [0062] of KAMAT; See also new scene graphs can be created by combining two or more existing graphs; that is, by adding other scene graphs as child nodes … this enables the creation of a new HV scene from existing scene graph elements, Para. [0049] of KAMAT; See also scene consisting of a dump truck and the excavator 18 on a construction jobsite with buried utilities is an example of a typical scene that can be modeled as an HV simulation … in this example, the SAGE 16 receives input in the form of the 3D terrain model of the construction jobsite … the GIS data input for the buried utility and CAD data input for articulated objects represents the dump truck and the excavator 18 … the articulated dump truck and excavator 18 are scene graphs that can be added to the parent scene graph representing the HV scene, Para. [0050] of KAMAT; See also in GIS, utility pipes are typically modeled as polyline features, and utility junctions as point features … shape, size, depth, and other information are treated as utility-specific attributes … a single utility represented as a GIS polyline feature typically consists of a number of straight line segments connected at turning points but represented as a single entity … in the real-world, a utility having bends consists of individual pipe segments that are joined to one another to create an overall single entity … thus a pre-processing step is included in some embodiments to break down GIS polylines into straight line features connected at turning locations prior to 3D modeling … through this step, a 3D utility consists of individual 3D segments and not one single entity … following the pre-processing step, the location, depth, cross-section shape, and dimension can be retrieved from the GIS attributes to create 3D polygon models, Para. [0087]; See also KAMAT citations in the “selecting” limitations above related to user-initiated changes and user interaction/selection), and the processing shifts to step (F), and in step (G), by further referring to the member database, construction influenced portion information based on the movability information of the movable member is recorded in the corrected construction plan database (an HV scene is the aggregation of all articulated object construction equipment, 3D terrain, and GIS and CAD data that are part of the real-world being emulated by the HV scene … hence a complete HV scene is a scene graph that uses existing sub-graphs of articulated objects and other 3D objects set in hierarchical order, Para. [0062] of KAMAT; See also new scene graphs can be created by combining two or more existing graphs; that is, by adding other scene graphs as child nodes … this enables the creation of a new HV scene from existing scene graph elements, Para. [0049] of KAMAT; See also scene consisting of a dump truck and the excavator 18 on a construction jobsite with buried utilities is an example of a typical scene that can be modeled as an HV simulation … in this example, the SAGE 16 receives input in the form of the 3D terrain model of the construction jobsite … the GIS data input for the buried utility and CAD data input for articulated objects represents the dump truck and the excavator 18 … the articulated dump truck and excavator 18 are scene graphs that can be added to the parent scene graph representing the HV scene, Para. [0050] of KAMAT; See also in GIS, utility pipes are typically modeled as polyline features, and utility junctions as point features … shape, size, depth, and other information are treated as utility-specific attributes … a single utility represented as a GIS polyline feature typically consists of a number of straight line segments connected at turning points but represented as a single entity … in the real-world, a utility having bends consists of individual pipe segments that are joined to one another to create an overall single entity … thus a pre-processing step is included in some embodiments to break down GIS polylines into straight line features connected at turning locations prior to 3D modeling … through this step, a 3D utility consists of individual 3D segments and not one single entity … following the pre-processing step, the location, depth, cross-section shape, and dimension can be retrieved from the GIS attributes to create 3D polygon models, Para. [0087]; See also KAMAT citations in the “selecting” limitations above related to user-initiated changes and user interaction/selection).
Regarding claim 4, KAMAT as modified by LIEBL discloses the management method according to Claim 3, wherein, further, before the step (P), whether the construction member and the peripheral member are movable members is determined by referring to the member database (KAMAT discusses simulating movement of dynamic objects (moveable) and no simulating movement but rather simulating via georeferencing static (unmovable) objects such terrain, Para. [0007] of KAMAT; See also the term “object(s)” encompasses both dynamic and static objects typically found on a construction jobsite such as construction equipment, buried utilities, building structures, and workers, Para. [0030] of KAMAT; See also TABLE 1 of Para. [0037] of KAMAT which includes a determination/indication of static/unmovable (e.g., buildings, trees, rivers, soil, utility pipes, cables, bedrock) or dynamic/movable (e.g., equipment personnel, airplanes, UAVs)), and when at least one of the construction member and the peripheral member is determined to be unmovable, the design corrected model is created in step (P) (another step involves simulating a static object of the construction jobsite with respect to the simulated terrain in the three-dimensional virtual representation of the construction jobsite, the simulation involving georeferencing, Para. [0007]; See also an HV scene is the aggregation of all articulated object construction equipment, 3D terrain, and GIS and CAD data that are part of the real-world being emulated by the HV scene … hence a complete HV scene is a scene graph that uses existing sub-graphs of articulated objects and other 3D objects set in hierarchical order, Para. [0062] of KAMAT; See also new scene graphs can be created by combining two or more existing graphs; that is, by adding other scene graphs as child nodes … this enables the creation of a new HV scene from existing scene graph elements, Para. [0049] of KAMAT; See also scene consisting of a dump truck and the excavator 18 on a construction jobsite with buried utilities is an example of a typical scene that can be modeled as an HV simulation … in this example, the SAGE 16 receives input in the form of the 3D terrain model of the construction jobsite … the GIS data input for the buried utility and CAD data input for articulated objects represents the dump truck and the excavator 18 … the articulated dump truck and excavator 18 are scene graphs that can be added to the parent scene graph representing the HV scene, Para. [0050] of KAMAT; See also in GIS, utility pipes are typically modeled as polyline features, and utility junctions as point features … shape, size, depth, and other information are treated as utility-specific attributes … a single utility represented as a GIS polyline feature typically consists of a number of straight line segments connected at turning points but represented as a single entity … in the real-world, a utility having bends consists of individual pipe segments that are joined to one another to create an overall single entity … thus a pre-processing step is included in some embodiments to break down GIS polylines into straight line features connected at turning locations prior to 3D modeling … through this step, a 3D utility consists of individual 3D segments and not one single entity … following the pre-processing step, the location, depth, cross-section shape, and dimension can be retrieved from the GIS attributes to create 3D polygon models, Para. [0087]; See also KAMAT citations in the “selecting” limitations above related to user-initiated changes and user interaction/selection), and when at least one of the construction member and the peripheral member is determined to be movable (i.e., a dynamic object), movability information of the determined movable member is read from the member database via the computer, a movable model of the movable member is created via a circuit configured to create a movable model (excavator model with digging bucket, Para. [0074] of KAMAT), a design corrected model is created by synthesizing the measurement model, the basic shape model, and the movable model via the circuit configured to create a design corrected model (an HV scene is the aggregation of all articulated object construction equipment, 3D terrain, and GIS and CAD data that are part of the real-world being emulated by the HV scene … hence a complete HV scene is a scene graph that uses existing sub-graphs of articulated objects and other 3D objects set in hierarchical order, Para. [0062] of KAMAT; See also new scene graphs can be created by combining two or more existing graphs; that is, by adding other scene graphs as child nodes … this enables the creation of a new HV scene from existing scene graph elements, Para. [0049] of KAMAT; See also scene consisting of a dump truck and the excavator 18 on a construction jobsite with buried utilities is an example of a typical scene that can be modeled as an HV simulation … in this example, the SAGE 16 receives input in the form of the 3D terrain model of the construction jobsite … the GIS data input for the buried utility and CAD data input for articulated objects represents the dump truck and the excavator 18 … the articulated dump truck and excavator 18 are scene graphs that can be added to the parent scene graph representing the HV scene, Para. [0050] of KAMAT; See also in GIS, utility pipes are typically modeled as polyline features, and utility junctions as point features … shape, size, depth, and other information are treated as utility-specific attributes … a single utility represented as a GIS polyline feature typically consists of a number of straight line segments connected at turning points but represented as a single entity … in the real-world, a utility having bends consists of individual pipe segments that are joined to one another to create an overall single entity … thus a pre-processing step is included in some embodiments to break down GIS polylines into straight line features connected at turning locations prior to 3D modeling … through this step, a 3D utility consists of individual 3D segments and not one single entity … following the pre-processing step, the location, depth, cross-section shape, and dimension can be retrieved from the GIS attributes to create 3D polygon models, Para. [0087]; See also KAMAT citations in the “selecting” limitations above related to user-initiated changes and user interaction/selection), and the processing shifts to step (Q), and in step (R), by the computer further referring to the member database, influenced portion information based on the movability information of the movable member (one step involves simulating movement of a dynamic object of the construction jobsite in a three-dimensional virtual representation of the construction jobsite, Para. [0006] of KAMAT; See also in addition to serving the purpose of viewing the utility network, visualization schemes may have other uses—such as displaying proximity values and collision warnings to buried utilities—computed by independent analysis processes … in one embodiment, the framework thus supports extensibility for processes beyond passive visualization alone … in the real-world, excavator operators are unable to see buried utilities like underground pipes covered by the earth and soil … operators also do not have real-time information regarding the proximity of the digging implement (e.g., excavator bucket) to the buried utilities and thus are not warned of an impending impact … a 3D visualization in a virtual world may be capable of processes beyond those possible in the real-world, such as calculating the distance based on the 3D geometric models of the construction equipment and utilities, and issuing warnings to prevent impacts, Para. [0074] of KAMAT; [the digging implement (excavator bucket) is interpreted as corresponding to an influenced/impacted portion of a movable member and the proximity information (distance, warning) are interpreted as corresponding to moveability information]; See also construction equipment monitoring is achieved through a combination of sensors placed on the equipment and replication of the equipment movement (translation and/or rotation) in a 3D virtual world … this virtual world provides operators with visual assistance as well as additional spatial context information to allow them to perform their task better … thus, it becomes evident that representation of equipment in 3D in an accurate and real-world representative manner facilitates the proposed equipment monitoring approach … objects present in a 3D virtual world may appear as a single cohesive entity … however, some objects are made up of one or more constituent components … articulated construction equipment is an example of this … for instance, a construction crane consists of a cabin, boom, cable, and hook; a backhoe similarly consists of a tracked or wheel base, a cabin, a front end loader, and a boom, stick and bucket at its opposite end … thus it can be seen that equipment of such type consists of more than a solitary sub-component, each of which is capable of translation and/or rotation … the components in turn are linked to each other through a parent-child hierarchy, where translation or rotation of a parent component results in corresponding movement in a child component … this parent-child hierarchical representation can be captured in a data representation structure called scene graphs through their layout and structure, Para. [0139] of KAMAT) is recorded in the corrected construction plan database (update is interpreted as “writing over”: since the sensor and user input 12, 14 update the GIS and CAD data 10 in the simulation and graphics engine 16 in real-time, the HV simulation gives warnings if a pair of objects come within a pre-determined safety threshold, Para. [0034]; See also the geometric proximity monitoring framework includes 3D geometry models, position, and orientation updates in order to perform proximity analysis, tolerance checks, and collision detection between a pair of objects or entities, Para. [0091]; See also the user input 14 can be used in combination with, or as a replacement for, sensor input to provide commands in order to update the pose of construction equipment in the HV scene for set-up purposes … the user input 14 also updates and advances the HV scene, in particular the 3D models of the construction equipment, Para. [0046] of KAMAT; See also FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic representation showing real-world sensor data for construction equipment updating hybrid virtual world computer-aided design (CAD) objects, Para. [0012] of KAMAT; Regarding the coordinates and shape being recorded/updated, see also: both shape and size data are commonly archived in GIS databases as attribute data, Para. [0079] of KAMAT; See also in addition to shape and size data, it has been determined that in some cases an unambiguous approach is called for when specifying how the utility location data is collected and archived … during the data collection stage, location data is typically collected at every point in which the direction of the utility line changes … using this approach, it is safe to assume that the utility line is a straight line between two successive points when viewed in a 2D planar view … location data collected at every turning point consists of three elements: latitude for horizontal location, longitude for horizontal location, and altitude for vertical location … in the case of buried utility data collection, the altitude element can sometimes be the source of much uncertainty and error … for instance, the elevation data collected can refer to: the elevation of the ground surface; the elevation of the top, middle, or bottom of the buried utility; or any random location on the buried utility … the specific location on the utility structure at which the elevation is obtained should be recorded, Para. [0080] of KAMAT; [latitude and longitude are interpreted as corresponding to coordinates]; See also since GIS data represents features on the earth's surface, their locations in a GIS dataset correspond to the earth's coordinates at the locations—that is, latitude and longitude values … this is referred to as a coordinate system and in the case of the earth is called a geographic coordinate system (GCS), Para. [0040] of KAMAT; See also the claim mappings of claims 1, 3, 8 and 10 above).
Regarding claim 5, KAMAT as modified by LIEBL discloses the management method according to Claim 1, further comprising: a step of writing, via the computer, the construction designated member coordinates and the construction designated member shape of the construction designated member recorded in the corrected construction plan database over member coordinates and a member shape linked by member identification information of the construction designated member in the design database (update is interpreted as “writing over”: since the sensor and user input 12, 14 update the GIS and CAD data 10 in the simulation and graphics engine 16 in real-time, the HV simulation gives warnings if a pair of objects come within a pre-determined safety threshold, Para. [0034]; See also the geometric proximity monitoring framework includes 3D geometry models, position, and orientation updates in order to perform proximity analysis, tolerance checks, and collision detection between a pair of objects or entities, Para. [0091]; See also the user input 14 can be used in combination with, or as a replacement for, sensor input to provide commands in order to update the pose of construction equipment in the HV scene for set-up purposes … the user input 14 also updates and advances the HV scene, in particular the 3D models of the construction equipment, Para. [0046] of KAMAT; See also FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic representation showing real-world sensor data for construction equipment updating hybrid virtual world computer-aided design (CAD) objects, Para. [0012] of KAMAT; Regarding the coordinates and shape being recorded/updated, see also: both shape and size data are commonly archived in GIS databases as attribute data, Para. [0079] of KAMAT; See also in addition to shape and size data, it has been determined that in some cases an unambiguous approach is called for when specifying how the utility location data is collected and archived … during the data collection stage, location data is typically collected at every point in which the direction of the utility line changes … using this approach, it is safe to assume that the utility line is a straight line between two successive points when viewed in a 2D planar view … location data collected at every turning point consists of three elements: latitude for horizontal location, longitude for horizontal location, and altitude for vertical location … in the case of buried utility data collection, the altitude element can sometimes be the source of much uncertainty and error … for instance, the elevation data collected can refer to: the elevation of the ground surface; the elevation of the top, middle, or bottom of the buried utility; or any random location on the buried utility … the specific location on the utility structure at which the elevation is obtained should be recorded, Para. [0080] of KAMAT; [latitude and longitude are interpreted as corresponding to coordinates]; See also since GIS data represents features on the earth's surface, their locations in a GIS dataset correspond to the earth's coordinates at the locations—that is, latitude and longitude values … this is referred to as a coordinate system and in the case of the earth is called a geographic coordinate system (GCS), Para. [0040] of KAMAT; See also the claim mappings of claims 1, 3, 8 and 10 above).
Regarding claim 6, KAMAT as modified by LIEBL discloses the management method according to Claim 3, further comprising: a step of newly adding the construction designated member, the construction designated member coordinates, and the construction designated member shape recorded in the corrected construction plan database into the design database via the computer (new scene graphs can be created by combining two or more existing graphs; that is, by adding other scene graphs as child nodes … this enables the creation of a new HV scene from existing scene graph elements, Para. [0049] of KAMAT; See also scene consisting of a dump truck and the excavator 18 on a construction jobsite with buried utilities is an example of a typical scene that can be modeled as an HV simulation … in this example, the SAGE 16 receives input in the form of the 3D terrain model of the construction jobsite … the GIS data input for the buried utility and CAD data input for articulated objects represents the dump truck and the excavator 18 … the articulated dump truck and excavator 18 are scene graphs that can be added to the parent scene graph representing the HV scene, Para. [0050] of KAMAT; Regarding the coordinates and shape being recorded/newly added, see also: both shape and size data are commonly archived in GIS databases as attribute data, Para. [0079] of KAMAT; See also in addition to shape and size data, it has been determined that in some cases an unambiguous approach is called for when specifying how the utility location data is collected and archived … during the data collection stage, location data is typically collected at every point in which the direction of the utility line changes … using this approach, it is safe to assume that the utility line is a straight line between two successive points when viewed in a 2D planar view … location data collected at every turning point consists of three elements: latitude for horizontal location, longitude for horizontal location, and altitude for vertical location … in the case of buried utility data collection, the altitude element can sometimes be the source of much uncertainty and error … for instance, the elevation data collected can refer to: the elevation of the ground surface; the elevation of the top, middle, or bottom of the buried utility; or any random location on the buried utility … the specific location on the utility structure at which the elevation is obtained should be recorded, Para. [0080] of KAMAT; [latitude and longitude are interpreted as corresponding to coordinates]; See also since GIS data represents features on the earth's surface, their locations in a GIS dataset correspond to the earth's coordinates at the locations—that is, latitude and longitude values … this is referred to as a coordinate system and in the case of the earth is called a geographic coordinate system (GCS), Para. [0040] of KAMAT; See also the claim mappings of claims 1, 3, 8 and 10 above).
Regarding claim 7, KAMAT as modified by LIEBL discloses a computer readable storage medium including computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform the management method according to Claim 1 (a system for monitoring proximity of objects at a construction jobsite via three-dimensional virtuality in real-time includes a computer readable medium with a non-transient data storage device having instructions thereon for performing several steps, Para. [0007]; See also mapping of KAMAT to claim 1 above).
Claim 9 has substantially similar limitations as recited in claim 2; therefore, it is rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 102 for the same reasons.
Claim 11 has substantially similar limitations as recited in claim 4; therefore, it is rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 102 for the same reasons.
Claims 12, 14 and 17 have substantially similar limitations as recited in claim 5; therefore, they are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 102 for the same reasons.
Claim 13, 15 and 18 have substantially similar limitations as recited in claim 6; therefore, they are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 102 for the same reasons.
Claim 16 has substantially similar limitations as recited in claim 7; therefore, it is rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 102 for the same reasons.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure: KOCHI (U.S. 2003/0004645), which was cited in Applicant’s IDS dated 01/09/2024 and by the European Patent Office (in EPO Form 1703 01.91TRI in the related counterpart European patent application) teaches, at Para. [0063], “compares the object shape data with the target data through comparative calculation of the stereovision image taken with the measurement-purpose stereo camera 220 on the construction site and the CG image as the target data image prepared at the three-dimensional target data storage section 340, and causes the result to be reflected on the superposed display on the video/virtual image display section 330” and at Para. [0066], “sends out the position information measured with the automatic tracing type of surveying instrument 252 through the data exchanging section 140 (R20).”
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 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 JOHN P HOCKER whose telephone number is (571)272-0501.
The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM EST.
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, Rehana Perveen can be reached on (571)272-3676. 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.
JOHN P. HOCKER
Examiner
Art Unit 2189
/JOHN P HOCKER/Examiner, Art Unit 2189
/REHANA PERVEEN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2189
1 Applicant’s specification, at Para. [0046] indicates a beam is selected as a construction member and, at Para. [0050], member database corresponds to (is recorded based on) a catalog.