DETAILED ACTION
The following is a Non-Final Office Action in response to the Request for Continued Examination filed on 15 December 2025. Claim 20 was previously cancelled. Claims 1-19 and 21 remain pending in this application.
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 15 December 2025 has been entered.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see Remarks, pg. 5-9, filed 15 December 2025, with respect to rejected claims 1-19 and 21 under 35 U.S.C. 103 have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection has been made as follows:
Claims 1-3, 6, 8-11, 17, 18 and 21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent Publication No. 2020/0379444 A1 (hereinafter Hu) in view U.S. Patent Publication No. 2013/0212420 A1 (hereinafter Lawson).
Claim 4, 12, 13, and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hu in view Lawson in further view of U.S. Patent Publication No. 2017/0176537 A1 (hereinafter Orman).
Claims 5, 14, and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hu in view Lawson in further view of U.S. Patent Publication No. 2018/0066944 A1 (hereinafter Shu).
Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hu in view Lawson in further view of Shu and U.S. Patent Publication No. 2014/0176125 A1 (hereinafter Friedrich).
Claim 16 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hu in view Lawson in further view of Orman and Shu.
Claims 1-19 and 21 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as set forth below.
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.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 1-3, 6, 8-11, 17, 18 and 21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent Publication No. 2020/0379444 A1 (hereinafter Hu) in view U.S. Patent Publication No. 2013/0212420 A1 (hereinafter Lawson).
As per claim 1, Hu substantially teaches the Applicant’s claimed invention. Hu teaches the limitations of a method for commissioning an electric motor drive application, wherein the electric motor drive application (i.e. an industrial system) comprises an electric motor drive (Fig. 1, element 101; i.e. drive) and an electric motor (pg. 1, par. [0015] and pg. 2, par. [0017] and Fig. 1, element 103; i.e. a mechanical system of one or more motors, [0015]: “The drive 101, the electrical machine 103 and the mechanical system 104 form together an industrial system (e.g., a production or assembly line system or a part thereof).”, and [0017]: “The electrical machine 103 may comprise one or more AC and/or DC electrical motors which may run, for example, a system for transporting material, such as a pump, a fan, a compressor, a blower, a conveyor belt, a roller conveyor, a crane and/or an elevator and/or a system for processing materials, such as a paper machine, a mill, a stirrer and/or a centrifuge.”), the method comprising:
collecting measured data at or near the electric motor drive application using a smartphone (pg. 2, par. [0018]-[0020] and Fig. 1, element 102; i.e. [0018]: “The wireless sensing device may be a dedicated wireless sensor device (i.e., a device primarily intended for sensing potentially having relatively limited memory and/or processing power) or a multi-purpose wireless computing device, which comprises one or more sensors, such as a smart phone. The wireless sensing device 102 may be a portable device.”, [0019]: “In some preferred embodiments, the wireless sensing device 102 may be a mobile phone (e.g., a smart phone) or a tablet computer.”, and [0020]: “The wireless sensing device 102 and/or the moving element 104 driven by the electrical machine 103 may be adapted so as to allow rigidly fixing (preferably, detachably) the wireless sensing device 103 to a measurement position 109 on the moving element 104. The measurement position 109 may be any position on the moving element 104 enabling performing measurements using the one or more kinematic sensors 108 so as to characterize the operation of the machine.”);
transferring the measured data from the smartphone to the electric motor drive (pg. 3, par. [0024] and pg. 4, par. [0027]; i.e. [0024]: “In the following, the term “analysis device” is used instead of “the wireless sensing device, the (local) wireless computing device, the remote computing device or the internal control unit of the drive” for brevity.” and [0027]: “The analysis device acquires, in block 202, results of a plurality of measurements performed by the wireless sensing device using the one or more sensors while the moving element is in motion.”); and
adjusting settings of the electric motor drive in dependence on the measured data (pg. 4, par. [0029]; i.e. [0029]: “During the acquiring of the results of the plurality of measurements, the analysis device compares, in block 203, results of the plurality of measurements with the one or more desired movement properties and communicates, also in block 203, with the drive over said at least one wireless communication link to adjust one or more drive parameters of the drive based on the comparing to achieve the one or more desired movement properties for the moving element.”).
Not explicitly taught are time-synchronizing the electric motor drive and a smartphone; and
time-stamping the measured data.
However Lawson, in an analogous art of synchronizing devices (pg. 1, par. [0009], pg. 3, par. [0038], pg. 4, par. [0047], and pg. 6, par. [0056]), teaches the missing limitations time-synchronizing a plurality of devices (pg. 1, par. [0009], pg. 3, par. [0038], pg. 4, par. [0045] and [0047], and pg. 6, par. [0056]; i.e. [0009]: “To this end, cloud-capable industrial devices can include internal clocks that are synchronized with a central time provider. Options for the latter include but are not limited to a GPS interface, an atomic clock receiver, or a centralized Internet-based cloud clock associated with a cloud based service or application running on a cloud platform.”, [0038]: “Industrial devices 108 and 110 can include such devices as industrial controllers (e.g., programmable logic controllers or other types of programmable automation controllers); field devices such as sensors and meters; motor drives; human-machine interfaces (HMIs); industrial robots, barcode markers and readers; vision system devices (e.g., vision cameras); smart welders; or other such industrial devices.”, and [0055]: “For example, an IEEE 1588 Precision Time Protocol (PTP) can be used, wherein the cloud's clock is designated as a master clock, and synchronization component 316 can adjust internal clock 320 to converge with the cloud's clock in accordance with synchronization signal 324. This technique is only intended to be exemplary, and it is to be appreciated that any suitable technique can be used to maintain synchronization between industrial controller 302 and the cloud platform. Moreover, reference times other than a cloud clock may be used as the master clock for maintaining synchronization between devices. For example, in some embodiments, an industrial device coupled to the cloud platform may be designated to act as the master for other industrial devices coupled to the cloud platform. The other industrial devices may access the current time maintained on the master industrial device via the cloud platform and adjust their respective local clocks to align the local clocks with the master clock on the master industrial device.”); and
time-stamping measured data (pg. 3, par. [0038], pgs. 4-5, par. [0044], [0049] and [0053]; i.e. sensor data, [0049]: “Although FIG. 3 illustrates certain aspects of the present disclosure in connection with an industrial controller, it is to be appreciated that the time stamping functions described herein can be implemented on any suitable industrial device that generates or collects data in connection with monitoring or controlling an industrial process, including but not limited to a variable frequency drive (VFD), an operator interface terminal (e.g., a human-machine interface), a telemetry device, a sensor, a vision camera, a barcode marker or reader, a data historian, or other industrial types of industrial devices.” and [0053]: “To facilitate time-based analysis of the industrial data on the cloud platform, industrial controller 302 can include a time stamp component 312 configured to associate time stamps to the raw data 306 prior to pushing the data to the cloud platform. For raw data 306 representing measured data values or statuses received at industrial controller 302 from monitored field devices, such as metered values or sensor states received via I/O 308, the time stamp can correspond to a time at which the metered value was read.”) for the purpose of facilitating a time-based an analysis of data (pg. 5, par. [0053]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teaching of Hu to include the addition of the limitations of time-synchronizing a plurality of devices; and time-stamping measured data to advantageously facilitate accurate collective analysis of disparate data sets wherein time stamps for all data received by a cloud platform conform to a common time standard. (Lawson: abstract and pgs. 5-6, par. [0054] and [0055]).
As per claim 2, Hu teaches utilising at least one integrated sensor of the smart-phone (pg. 2, par. [0018] and pg. 11, par. [0086]; i.e. “The wireless sensing device 102 refers to a computing device (equipment, apparatus) comprising one or more sensors 108 (preferably, a plurality of sensors) and being configured to communicate wirelessly with the drive 101 over the wireless communication link 106.”), wherein the sensor is a gyroscope (pg. 2, par. [0018]: “Said one or more sensors 108 may comprise one or more kinematic sensors (i.e., sensors sensing quantities associated with motion). The one or more kinematic sensors may comprise one or more sensors of the following types: a speed sensor, an acceleration sensor (i.e., an accelerometer), a vibration sensor, a position sensor, an angular position sensor, a displacement sensor, an angular velocity sensor (i.e., a gyro sensor), an angular acceleration sensor and a torque sensor.”).
As per claim 3, Hu teaches a wireless connection is established between the smartphone and the electric motor drive (pg. 2, par. [0018]: “The wireless sensing device 102 refers to a computing device (equipment, apparatus) comprising one or more sensors 108 (preferably, a plurality of sensors) and being configured to communicate wirelessly with the drive 101 over the wireless communication link 106. … The connection between the drive 101 and the wireless sensing device 102 may be provided via a wireless communication link 106 using any standard wireless protocol, such as Bluetooth or Wi-Fi.”).
As per claim 6, Hu teaches performing the measurement comprises measuring an acceleration of the electric motor and/or of mechanical components connected to the electric motor by using an accelerometer of the smartphone (pg. 1, par. [0015], pg. 2, par. [0017] and [0018] and pg. 4, par. [0028]; i.e. [0015]: “The drive 101, the electrical machine 103 and the mechanical system 104 form together an industrial system (e.g., a production or assembly line system or a part thereof).”, [0017]: “The electrical machine 103 may comprise one or more AC and/or DC electrical motors which may run, for example, a system for transporting material, such as a pump, a fan, a compressor, a blower, a conveyor belt, a roller conveyor, a crane and/or an elevator and/or a system for processing materials, such as a paper machine, a mill, a stirrer and/or a centrifuge.”, and [0018]: “The one or more kinematic sensors may comprise one or more sensors of the following types: a speed sensor, an acceleration sensor (i.e., an accelerometer), a vibration sensor, a position sensor, an angular position sensor, a displacement sensor, an angular velocity sensor (i.e., a gyro sensor), an angular acceleration sensor and a torque sensor.”, and [0028]: “Therefore, the wireless sensing device may perform measurements of one or more of speed, acceleration, vibration, position, angle, displacement, distance, angular speed, angular acceleration and torque.”).
As per claim 8, Hu teaches performing the measurement comprises identifying resonances (i.e. vibration) in the electric motor application, by using an accelerometer of the smartphone (pg. 1, par. [0015], pg. 2, par. [0017] and [0018] and pg. 4, par. [0028]; i.e. [0015]: “The drive 101, the electrical machine 103 and the mechanical system 104 form together an industrial system (e.g., a production or assembly line system or a part thereof).”, [0017]: “The electrical machine 103 may comprise one or more AC and/or DC electrical motors which may run, for example, a system for transporting material, such as a pump, a fan, a compressor, a blower, a conveyor belt, a roller conveyor, a crane and/or an elevator and/or a system for processing materials, such as a paper machine, a mill, a stirrer and/or a centrifuge.”, [0018]: “The one or more kinematic sensors may comprise one or more sensors of the following types: a speed sensor, an acceleration sensor (i.e., an accelerometer), a vibration sensor, a position sensor, an angular position sensor, a displacement sensor, an angular velocity sensor (i.e., a gyro sensor), an angular acceleration sensor and a torque sensor.”, and [0028]: “Therefore, the wireless sensing device may perform measurements of one or more of speed, acceleration, vibration, position, angle, displacement, distance, angular speed, angular acceleration and torque.”).
As per claim 9, Hu teaches adjusting the settings of the electric motor drive further comprises optimizing the electric motor drive by means of dedicated algorithms (pg. 4, par. [0029] and pg. 10, par. [0076]; i.e. [0029]: “During the acquiring of the results of the plurality of measurements, the analysis device compares, in block 203, results of the plurality of measurements with the one or more desired movement properties and communicates, also in block 203, with the drive over said at least one wireless communication link to adjust one or more drive parameters of the drive based on the comparing to achieve the one or more desired movement properties for the moving element.” and [0076]: “The remote computing device 901 may comprise one or more control circuitry 920, such as at least one processor, and at least one memory 930, including one or more algorithms 931, such as a computer program code (software) wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code (software) are configured, with the at least one processor, to cause the remote computing device to carry out any one of the exemplified functionalities of the remote computing device described above, respectively. Said at least one memory 930 may also comprise at least one database 932.”).
As per claim 10, Hu teaches an electric motor drive (Fig. 1, element 101), wherein the electric motor drive is configured to wirelessly communicate with the smartphone (pgs. 1-2, par. [0016] and [0018] and pg. 11, par. [0086]: [0016]: “The drive 101 may be any device which may be used to control the motion of machines (for example, the rotation speed of an electrical motor of an electrical machine) by changing one or more drive parameters and which may be connected to the wireless sensing device 102 using the wireless communication link 106.” and [0018]: “The wireless sensing device 102 refers to a computing device (equipment, apparatus) comprising one or more sensors 108 (preferably, a plurality of sensors) and being configured to communicate wirelessly with the drive 101 over the wireless communication link 106. … The connection between the drive 101 and the wireless sensing device 102 may be provided via a wireless communication link 106 using any standard wireless protocol, such as Bluetooth or Wi-Fi.”), wherein the electric motor drive is provided for performing the method according to claim 1 (i.e. The limitation of “the method according to claim 1” stands rejected for the same rationale as set forth in claim 1 by virtue of the incorporation of the method of claim 1.).
As per claim 11, Hu teaches a wireless connection is established between the smartphone and the electric motor drive (pg. 2, par. [0018]: “The wireless sensing device 102 refers to a computing device (equipment, apparatus) comprising one or more sensors 108 (preferably, a plurality of sensors) and being configured to communicate wirelessly with the drive 101 over the wireless communication link 106. … The connection between the drive 101 and the wireless sensing device 102 may be provided via a wireless communication link 106 using any standard wireless protocol, such as Bluetooth or Wi-Fi.”).
As per claim 17, Hu teaches performing the measurement comprises measuring acceleration of the electric motor and/or of mechanical components connected to the electric motor by using an accelerometer of the smartphone (pg. 1, par. [0015], pg. 2, par. [0017] and [0018] and pg. 4, par. [0028]; i.e. [0015]: “The drive 101, the electrical machine 103 and the mechanical system 104 form together an industrial system (e.g., a production or assembly line system or a part thereof).”, [0017]: “The electrical machine 103 may comprise one or more AC and/or DC electrical motors which may run, for example, a system for transporting material, such as a pump, a fan, a compressor, a blower, a conveyor belt, a roller conveyor, a crane and/or an elevator and/or a system for processing materials, such as a paper machine, a mill, a stirrer and/or a centrifuge.”, and [0018]: “The one or more kinematic sensors may comprise one or more sensors of the following types: a speed sensor, an acceleration sensor (i.e., an accelerometer), a vibration sensor, a position sensor, an angular position sensor, a displacement sensor, an angular velocity sensor (i.e., a gyro sensor), an angular acceleration sensor and a torque sensor.”, and [0028]: “Therefore, the wireless sensing device may perform measurements of one or more of speed, acceleration, vibration, position, angle, displacement, distance, angular speed, angular acceleration and torque.”).
As per claim 18, Hu teaches performing the measurement comprises measuring acceleration of the electric motor and/or of mechanical components connected to the electric motor by using an accelerometer of the smartphone (pg. 1, par. [0015], pg. 2, par. [0017] and [0018] and pg. 4, par. [0028]; i.e. [0015]: “The drive 101, the electrical machine 103 and the mechanical system 104 form together an industrial system (e.g., a production or assembly line system or a part thereof).”, [0017]: “The electrical machine 103 may comprise one or more AC and/or DC electrical motors which may run, for example, a system for transporting material, such as a pump, a fan, a compressor, a blower, a conveyor belt, a roller conveyor, a crane and/or an elevator and/or a system for processing materials, such as a paper machine, a mill, a stirrer and/or a centrifuge.”, and [0018]: “The one or more kinematic sensors may comprise one or more sensors of the following types: a speed sensor, an acceleration sensor (i.e., an accelerometer), a vibration sensor, a position sensor, an angular position sensor, a displacement sensor, an angular velocity sensor (i.e., a gyro sensor), an angular acceleration sensor and a torque sensor.”, and [0028]: “Therefore, the wireless sensing device may perform measurements of one or more of speed, acceleration, vibration, position, angle, displacement, distance, angular speed, angular acceleration and torque.”).
As per claim 21, Hu substantially teaches the Applicant’s claimed invention. Hu teaches the limitations of an electric motor drive application (i.e. an industrial system) including an electric motor drive (Fig. 1, element 101; i.e. drive) and an electric motor, comprising the electric motor drive (pg. 1, par. [0015] and pg. 2, par. [0017] and Fig. 1, element 103; i.e. a mechanical system of one or more motors, [0015]: “The drive 101, the electrical machine 103 and the mechanical system 104 form together an industrial system (e.g., a production or assembly line system or a part thereof).”, and [0017]: “The electrical machine 103 may comprise one or more AC and/or DC electrical motors which may run, for example, a system for transporting material, such as a pump, a fan, a compressor, a blower, a conveyor belt, a roller conveyor, a crane and/or an elevator and/or a system for processing materials, such as a paper machine, a mill, a stirrer and/or a centrifuge.”) configured to:
wirelessly communicate with a smartphone (pg. 1, par. [0013] and pg. 3, par. [0024]; i.e. [0013]: “The (wireless) communications network to be discussed below may, in some embodiments, be any wireless communications network listed in this paragraph.”);
receive measured data from the smartphone collected by the smartphone (pg. 3, par. [0024] and pg. 4, par. [0027]; i.e. [0024]: “In the following, the term “analysis device” is used instead of “the wireless sensing device, the (local) wireless computing device, the remote computing device or the internal control unit of the drive” for brevity.” and [0027]: “The analysis device acquires, in block 202, results of a plurality of measurements performed by the wireless sensing device using the one or more sensors while the moving element is in motion.”) at or near the electric motor (pg. 2, par. [0018]-[0020] and Fig. 1, element 102; i.e. [0018]: “The wireless sensing device may be a dedicated wireless sensor device (i.e., a device primarily intended for sensing potentially having relatively limited memory and/or processing power) or a multi-purpose wireless computing device, which comprises one or more sensors, such as a smart phone. The wireless sensing device 102 may be a portable device.”, [0019]: “In some preferred embodiments, the wireless sensing device 102 may be a mobile phone (e.g., a smart phone) or a tablet computer.”, and [0020]: “The wireless sensing device 102 and/or the moving element 104 driven by the electrical machine 103 may be adapted so as to allow rigidly fixing (preferably, detachably) the wireless sensing device 103 to a measurement position 109 on the moving element 104. The measurement position 109 may be any position on the moving element 104 enabling performing measurements using the one or more kinematic sensors 108 so as to characterize the operation of the machine.”); and
adjust settings of the electric motor drive in dependence on the measured data (pg. 4, par. [0029]; i.e. [0029]: “During the acquiring of the results of the plurality of measurements, the analysis device compares, in block 203, results of the plurality of measurements with the one or more desired movement properties and communicates, also in block 203, with the drive over said at least one wireless communication link to adjust one or more drive parameters of the drive based on the comparing to achieve the one or more desired movement properties for the moving element.”).
Not explicitly taught are time-synchronize with the smartphone; and
the measured data is time-stamped.
However Lawson, in an analogous art of synchronizing devices (pg. 1, par. [0009], pg. 3, par. [0038], pg. 4, par. [0047], and pg. 6, par. [0056]), teaches the missing limitations time-synchronize a plurality of devices (pg. 1, par. [0009], pg. 3, par. [0038], pg. 4, par. [0045] and [0047], and pg. 6, par. [0056]; i.e. [0009]: “To this end, cloud-capable industrial devices can include internal clocks that are synchronized with a central time provider. Options for the latter include but are not limited to a GPS interface, an atomic clock receiver, or a centralized Internet-based cloud clock associated with a cloud based service or application running on a cloud platform.”, [0038]: “Industrial devices 108 and 110 can include such devices as industrial controllers (e.g., programmable logic controllers or other types of programmable automation controllers); field devices such as sensors and meters; motor drives; human-machine interfaces (HMIs); industrial robots, barcode markers and readers; vision system devices (e.g., vision cameras); smart welders; or other such industrial devices.”, and [0055]: “For example, an IEEE 1588 Precision Time Protocol (PTP) can be used, wherein the cloud's clock is designated as a master clock, and synchronization component 316 can adjust internal clock 320 to converge with the cloud's clock in accordance with synchronization signal 324. This technique is only intended to be exemplary, and it is to be appreciated that any suitable technique can be used to maintain synchronization between industrial controller 302 and the cloud platform. Moreover, reference times other than a cloud clock may be used as the master clock for maintaining synchronization between devices. For example, in some embodiments, an industrial device coupled to the cloud platform may be designated to act as the master for other industrial devices coupled to the cloud platform. The other industrial devices may access the current time maintained on the master industrial device via the cloud platform and adjust their respective local clocks to align the local clocks with the master clock on the master industrial device.”); and
measured data is time-stamped (pg. 3, par. [0038], pgs. 4-5, par. [0044], [0049] and [0053]; i.e. sensor data, [0049]: “Although FIG. 3 illustrates certain aspects of the present disclosure in connection with an industrial controller, it is to be appreciated that the time stamping functions described herein can be implemented on any suitable industrial device that generates or collects data in connection with monitoring or controlling an industrial process, including but not limited to a variable frequency drive (VFD), an operator interface terminal (e.g., a human-machine interface), a telemetry device, a sensor, a vision camera, a barcode marker or reader, a data historian, or other industrial types of industrial devices.” and [0053]: “To facilitate time-based analysis of the industrial data on the cloud platform, industrial controller 302 can include a time stamp component 312 configured to associate time stamps to the raw data 306 prior to pushing the data to the cloud platform. For raw data 306 representing measured data values or statuses received at industrial controller 302 from monitored field devices, such as metered values or sensor states received via I/O 308, the time stamp can correspond to a time at which the metered value was read.”) for the purpose of facilitating a time-based an analysis of data (pg. 5, par. [0053]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teaching of Hu to include the addition of the limitations of time-synchronize a plurality of devices; and measured data is time-stamped to advantageously facilitate accurate collective analysis of disparate data sets wherein time stamps for all data received by a cloud platform conform to a common time standard. (Lawson: abstract and pgs. 5-6, par. [0054] and [0055]).
Claim 4, 12, 13, and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hu in view Lawson in further view of U.S. Patent Publication No. 2017/0176537 A1 (hereinafter Orman).
As per claim 4, Hu teaches to the measured data in the smartphone is transferred to the electric motor drive (pg. 3, par. [0024] and pg. 4, par. [0027]; i.e. [0024]: “In the following, the term “analysis device” is used instead of “the wireless sensing device, the (local) wireless computing device, the remote computing device or the internal control unit of the drive” for brevity.” and [0027]: “The analysis device acquires, in block 202, results of a plurality of measurements performed by the wireless sensing device using the one or more sensors while the moving element is in motion.”).
Hu does not expressly teach the measured data is pre-processed in the smartphone prior to its transfer.
Hu in view of Lawson does not expressly teach the measured data is pre-processed in the smartphone prior to its transfer.
However Orman, in an analogous art of monitoring an electric machine (pg. 1, par. [0001]), teaches the missing limitation of measured data is pre-processed in a smartphone prior to its transfer (pg. 5, par. [0056]; i.e. “In this example raw measurements are transferred to server which can be done by e.g. internet or GPRS, however sending some initially pre-processed data can also be realized in the case of a low quality of connection in the given plant.) for the purpose of determining an operation status of an electric machine (pg. 1, par. [0005]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teaching of Hu in view of Lawson to include the addition of the limitation of measured data is pre-processed in a smartphone prior to its transfer to advantageously provide a compact monitoring device for flexibility in a selection of measurement positioning (Orman: pg. 1, par. [0005]).
As per claim 12, Hu teaches the measured data in the smartphone is transferred to the electric motor drive (pg. 3, par. [0024] and pg. 4, par. [0027]; i.e. [0024]: “In the following, the term “analysis device” is used instead of “the wireless sensing device, the (local) wireless computing device, the remote computing device or the internal control unit of the drive” for brevity.” and [0027]: “The analysis device acquires, in block 202, results of a plurality of measurements performed by the wireless sensing device using the one or more sensors while the moving element is in motion.”).
Hu does not expressly teach the measured data is pre-processed in the v prior to its transfer.
Hu in view of Lawson does not expressly teach the measured data is pre-processed in the smartphone prior to its transfer.
However Orman, in an analogous art of monitoring an electric machine (pg. 1, par. [0001]), teaches the missing limitation of measured data is pre-processed in a smartphone prior to its transfer (pg. 5, par. [0056]; i.e. “In this example raw measurements are transferred to server which can be done by e.g. internet or GPRS, however sending some initially pre-processed data can also be realized in the case of a low quality of connection in the given plant.) for the purpose of determining an operation status of an electric machine (pg. 1, par. [0005]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teaching of Hu in view of Lawson to include the addition of the limitation of measured data is pre-processed in a v prior to its transfer to advantageously provide a compact monitoring device for flexibility in a selection of measurement positioning (Orman: pg. 1, par. [0005]).
As per claim 13, Hu teaches to the measured data in the smartphone is transferred to the drive (pg. 3, par. [0024] and pg. 4, par. [0027]; i.e. [0024]: “In the following, the term “analysis device” is used instead of “the wireless sensing device, the (local) wireless computing device, the remote computing device or the internal control unit of the drive” for brevity.” and [0027]: “The analysis device acquires, in block 202, results of a plurality of measurements performed by the wireless sensing device using the one or more sensors while the moving element is in motion.”).
Hu does not expressly teach the measured data is pre-processed in the smartphone prior to its transfer.
Hu in view of Lawson does not expressly teach the measured data is pre-processed in the smartphone prior to its transfer.
However Orman, in an analogous art of monitoring an electric machine (pg. 1, par. [0001]), teaches the missing limitation of measured data is pre-processed in a smartphone prior to its transfer (pg. 5, par. [0056]; i.e. “In this example raw measurements are transferred to server which can be done by e.g. internet or GPRS, however sending some initially pre-processed data can also be realized in the case of a low quality of connection in the given plant.) for the purpose of determining an operation status of an electric machine (pg. 1, par. [0005]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teaching of Hu in view of Lawson to include the addition of the limitation of measured data is pre-processed in a smartphone prior to its transfer to advantageously provide a compact monitoring device for flexibility in a selection of measurement positioning (Orman: pg. 1, par. [0005]).
As per claim 19, Hu teaches performing the measurement comprises measuring acceleration of the electric motor and/or of mechanical components connected to the electric motor, by using an accelerometer of the smartphone (pg. 1, par. [0015], pg. 2, par. [0017] and [0018] and pg. 4, par. [0028]; i.e. [0015]: “The drive 101, the electrical machine 103 and the mechanical system 104 form together an industrial system (e.g., a production or assembly line system or a part thereof).”, [0017]: “The electrical machine 103 may comprise one or more AC and/or DC electrical motors which may run, for example, a system for transporting material, such as a pump, a fan, a compressor, a blower, a conveyor belt, a roller conveyor, a crane and/or an elevator and/or a system for processing materials, such as a paper machine, a mill, a stirrer and/or a centrifuge.”, and [0018]: “The one or more kinematic sensors may comprise one or more sensors of the following types: a speed sensor, an acceleration sensor (i.e., an accelerometer), a vibration sensor, a position sensor, an angular position sensor, a displacement sensor, an angular velocity sensor (i.e., a gyro sensor), an angular acceleration sensor and a torque sensor.”, and [0028]: “Therefore, the wireless sensing device may perform measurements of one or more of speed, acceleration, vibration, position, angle, displacement, distance, angular speed, angular acceleration and torque.”).
Claims 5, 14, and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hu in view Lawson in further view of U.S. Patent Publication No. 2018/0066944 A1 (hereinafter Shu).
As per claim 5, Hu teaches performing the measurement comprises measuring environmental parameters at the electric motor drive application by using a sensor of the smartphone and/or connected to the smartphone (pg. 2, par. [0018] and [0019]; i.e. [0018]: “In some embodiments, the one or more sensors 108 may also comprise an acoustic sensor, a humidity sensor and/or a temperature sensor. … The humidity and temperature sensors may be used to analyze the operating conditions of the industrial system which may affect the behavior of the industrial system used. Specifically, the temperature sensor may measure temperature rise during the operation of the system. Both of the temperature and the humidity sensor may be used to validate that the operation environment fulfills pre-defined requirements. Each of the one or more sensors 108 of the wireless sensing device may be a built-in sensor of the wireless sensing device 102 or an add-on to the wireless sensing device 102.” and [0019]: “… the wireless sensing device 102 may be a mobile phone (e.g., a smart phone) or a tablet computer.”).
Hu does not expressly teach measuring air pressure and/or air flow speed at the electric motor drive application by using a barometer and/or an anemometer of the smartphone and/or connected to the smartphone.
Hu in view of Lawson does not expressly teach air pressure and/or air flow speed at the electric motor drive application by using a barometer and/or an anemometer of the smartphone and/or connected to the smartphone.
However Shu, in an analogous art of mobile devices (pg. 3, par. [0040] and [0041]), teaches the missing limitation of measuring air pressure by using a barometer of a smartphone and/or connected to the smartphone (pg. 3, par. [0040] and [0041]; i.e. [0040]: “Often, a plurality of sensors, such as the accelerometer, the gyroscope, the barometer and the magnetometer, are provided in common mobile devices such as smartphones, and thus these mobile devices may be used for collecting the environment parameters.” and [0041]: “In this step, the time series data may include measurements collected by the at least one environment sensor equipped in the mobile device, and the measurement at each time point of the time series data is the reading of the at least one environment sensor at a location along the reference path.”) for the purpose of collecting environmental parameters (pg. 3, par. [0040]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teaching of Hu in view of Lawson to include the addition of the limitation of measuring air pressure by using a barometer of a smartphone and/or connected to the smartphone to advantageously provide accurate location information (Shu: pg. 1, par. [0002]).
As per claim 14, Hu teaches performing the measurement comprises measuring environmental parameters at the electric motor drive application by using a sensor of the smartphone and/or connected to the smartphone (pg. 2, par. [0018] and [0019]; i.e. [0018]: “In some embodiments, the one or more sensors 108 may also comprise an acoustic sensor, a humidity sensor and/or a temperature sensor. … The humidity and temperature sensors may be used to analyze the operating conditions of the industrial system which may affect the behavior of the industrial system used. Specifically, the temperature sensor may measure temperature rise during the operation of the system. Both of the temperature and the humidity sensor may be used to validate that the operation environment fulfills pre-defined requirements. Each of the one or more sensors 108 of the wireless sensing device may be a built-in sensor of the wireless sensing device 102 or an add-on to the wireless sensing device 102.” and [0019]: “… the wireless sensing device 102 may be a mobile phone (e.g., a smart phone) or a tablet computer.”).
Hu does not expressly teach measuring air pressure and/or air flow speed at the electric motor drive application by using a barometer and/or an anemometer of the smartphone and/or connected to the smartphone.
Hu in view of Lawson does not expressly teach measuring air pressure and/or air flow speed at the electric motor drive application by using a barometer and/or an anemometer of the smartphone and/or connected to the smartphone.
However Shu, in an analogous art of mobile devices (pg. 3, par. [0040] and [0041]), teaches the missing limitation of measuring air pressure by using a barometer of a smartphone and/or connected to the smartphone (pg. 3, par. [0040] and [0041]; i.e. [0040]: “Often, a plurality of sensors, such as the accelerometer, the gyroscope, the barometer and the magnetometer, are provided in common mobile devices such as smartphones, and thus these mobile devices may be used for collecting the environment parameters.” and [0041]: “In this step, the time series data may include measurements collected by the at least one environment sensor equipped in the mobile device, and the measurement at each time point of the time series data is the reading of the at least one environment sensor at a location along the reference path.”) for the purpose of collecting environmental parameters (pg. 3, par. [0040]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teaching of Hu in view of Lawson to include the addition of the limitation of measuring air pressure in particular by using a barometer of a smartphone and/or connected to the smartphone to advantageously provide accurate location information (Shu: pg. 1, par. [0002]).
As per claim 15, Hu teaches performing the measurement comprises measuring environmental parameters at the electric motor drive application by using a sensor of the smartphone and/or connected to the smartphone (pg. 2, par. [0018] and [0019]; i.e. [0018]: “In some embodiments, the one or more sensors 108 may also comprise an acoustic sensor, a humidity sensor and/or a temperature sensor. … The humidity and temperature sensors may be used to analyze the operating conditions of the industrial system which may affect the behavior of the industrial system used. Specifically, the temperature sensor may measure temperature rise during the operation of the system. Both of the temperature and the humidity sensor may be used to validate that the operation environment fulfills pre-defined requirements. Each of the one or more sensors 108 of the wireless sensing device may be a built-in sensor of the wireless sensing device 102 or an add-on to the wireless sensing device 102.” and [0019]: “… the wireless sensing device 102 may be a mobile phone (e.g., a smart phone) or a tablet computer.”).
Hu does not expressly teach measuring air pressure and/or air flow speed at the electric motor drive application by using a barometer and/or an anemometer of the smartphone and/or connected to the smartphone.
Hu in view of Lawson does not expressly teach measuring air pressure and/or air flow speed at the electric motor drive application by using a barometer and/or an anemometer of the smartphone and/or connected to the smartphone.
However Shu, in an analogous art of mobile devices (pg. 3, par. [0040] and [0041]), teaches the missing limitation of measuring air pressure in particular by using a barometer of a smartphone and/or connected to the smartphone (pg. 3, par. [0040] and [0041]; i.e. [0040]: “Often, a plurality of sensors, such as the accelerometer, the gyroscope, the barometer and the magnetometer, are provided in common mobile devices such as smartphones, and thus these mobile devices may be used for collecting the environment parameters.” and [0041]: “In this step, the time series data may include measurements collected by the at least one environment sensor equipped in the mobile device, and the measurement at each time point of the time series data is the reading of the at least one environment sensor at a location along the reference path.”) for the purpose of collecting environmental parameters (pg. 3, par. [0040]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teaching of Hu in view of Lawson to include the addition of the limitation of air pressure in particular by using a barometer of a smartphone and/or connected to the smartphone to advantageously provide accurate location information (Shu: pg. 1, par. [0002]).
Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hu in view Lawson in further view of Shu and U.S. Patent Publication No. 2014/0176125 A1 (hereinafter Friedrich).
As per claim 7, Hu teaches performing the measurement at or near the electric motor (Fig .1, element 103) in particular by using a sensor of the smartphone (pg. 1, par. [0015], pg. 2, par. [0018]-[0020], and Fig. 1, element 102; i.e. [0015]: “The drive 101, the electrical machine 103 and the mechanical system 104 form together an industrial system (e.g., a production or assembly line system or a part thereof).”, [0017]: “The electrical machine 103 may comprise one or more AC and/or DC electrical motors which may run, for example, a system for transporting material, such as a pump, a fan, a compressor, a blower, a conveyor belt, a roller conveyor, a crane and/or an elevator and/or a system for processing materials, such as a paper machine, a mill, a stirrer and/or a centrifuge.”, [0018]: “The wireless sensing device may be a dedicated wireless sensor device (i.e., a device primarily intended for sensing potentially having relatively limited memory and/or processing power) or a multi-purpose wireless computing device, which comprises one or more sensors, such as a smart phone. The wireless sensing device 102 may be a portable device.”, [0019]: “In some preferred embodiments, the wireless sensing device 102 may be a mobile phone (e.g., a smart phone) or a tablet computer.”, and [0020]: “The wireless sensing device 102 and/or the moving element 104 driven by the electrical machine 103 may be adapted so as to allow rigidly fixing (preferably, detachably) the wireless sensing device 103 to a measurement position 109 on the moving element 104. The measurement position 109 may be any position on the moving element 104 enabling performing measurements using the one or more kinematic sensors 108 so as to characterize the operation of the machine.”).
Hu does not expressly teach determining a number of pole-pairs by using a slow-motion camera or a magnetometer of the smartphone.
Hu in view of Lawson does not expressly teach determining a number of pole-pairs by using a slow-motion camera or a magnetometer of the smartphone.
However Shu, in an analogous art of mobile devices (pg. 3, par. [0040] and [0041]), teaches the missing limitation of a magnetometer of a smartphone (pg. 3, par. [0040] and [0041]; i.e. [0040]: “Often, a plurality of sensors, such as the accelerometer, the gyroscope, the barometer and the magnetometer, are provided in common mobile devices such as smartphones, and thus these mobile devices may be used for collecting the environment parameters.” and [0041]: “In this step, the time series data may include measurements collected by the at least one environment sensor equipped in the mobile device, and the measurement at each time point of the time series data is the reading of the at least one environment sensor at a location along the reference path.”) for the purpose of collecting environmental parameters (pg. 3, par. [0040]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teaching of Hu in view of Lawson to include the addition of the limitation of a magnetometer of a smartphone to advantageously provide accurate location information (Shu: pg. 1, par. [0002]).
Hu in view of Lawson in further view of Shu does not expressly teach determining a number of pole-pairs.
However Friedrich, in an analogous art of a monitoring device (pg. 1, par. [0013] and pg. 5, par. [0070]), teaches the missing limitation of determining a number of pole-pairs (pg. 5, par. [0070]; i.e. “The magnetic field sensor 50 can also include a pole pair counting module 74 coupled to receive the corrected x-y angle signal 73a (or the x-y angle signal 72a) and configured to generate a pole pair count signal 74a corresponding to a count of the number of pole pairs of the ring magnet 51 that pass by the CVH sensing element 52.”) for the purpose of counting a number of pole pairs (pg. 5, par. [0070]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teaching of Hu in view of Lawson in further view of Shu to include the addition of the limitation of determining a number of pole-pairs to advantageously provide an improved output signal with a higher angular (or positional) resolution while taking no additional time (Friedrich: pg. 1, par. [0013]).
Claim 16 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hu in view Lawson in further view of Orman and Shu.
As per claim 16, Hu teaches performing the measurement comprises measuring environmental parameters at the electric motor drive application by using a sensor of the smartphone and/or connected to the smartphone (pg. 2, par. [0018] and [0019]; i.e. [0018]: “In some embodiments, the one or more sensors 108 may also comprise an acoustic sensor, a humidity sensor and/or a temperature sensor. … The humidity and temperature sensors may be used to analyze the operating conditions of the industrial system which may affect the behavior of the industrial system used. Specifically, the temperature sensor may measure temperature rise during the operation of the system. Both of the temperature and the humidity sensor may be used to validate that the operation environment fulfills pre-defined requirements. Each of the one or more sensors 108 of the wireless sensing device may be a built-in sensor of the wireless sensing device 102 or an add-on to the wireless sensing device 102.” and [0019]: “… the wireless sensing device 102 may be a mobile phone (e.g., a smart phone) or a tablet computer.”).
Hu does not expressly teach measuring air pressure and/or air flow speed at the electric motor drive application by using a barometer and/or an anemometer of the smartphone and/or connected to the smartphone.
Hu in view of Lawson does not expressly teach measuring air pressure and/or air flow speed at the electric motor drive application by using a barometer and/or an anemometer of the smartphone and/or connected to the smartphone.
Hu in view of Lawson in further view of Orman does not expressly teach measuring air pressure and/or air flow speed at the electric motor drive application by using a barometer and/or an anemometer of the smartphone and/or connected to the smartphone.
However Shu, in an analogous art of mobile devices (pg. 3, par. [0040] and [0041]), teaches the missing limitation of measuring air pressure by using a barometer of a smartphone and/or connected to the smartphone (pg. 3, par. [0040] and [0041]; i.e. [0040]: “Often, a plurality of sensors, such as the accelerometer, the gyroscope, the barometer and the magnetometer, are provided in common mobile devices such as smartphones, and thus these mobile devices may be used for collecting the environment parameters.” and [0041]: “In this step, the time series data may include measurements collected by the at least one environment sensor equipped in the mobile device, and the measurement at each time point of the time series data is the reading of the at least one environment sensor at a location along the reference path.”) for the purpose of collecting environmental parameters (pg. 3, par. [0040]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teaching of Hu in view of Lawson in further view of Orman to include the addition of the limitation of measuring air pressure by using a barometer of a smartphone and/or connected to the smartphone to advantageously provide accurate location information (Shu: pg. 1, par. [0002]).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
The following references are cited to further show the state of the art with respect to synchronization methods/systems.
*U.S. Patent Publication No. 2008/0079595 A1 discloses a field device in an industrial environment comprises a clock that is synchronized with a clock of at least one other field device.
U.S. Patent Publication No. 2018/0373210 A1 discloses an automated electrical system commissioning in industrial/commercial settings (e.g., a data center) increases a likelihood that the automated electrical system functions as intended when released into production.
U.S. Patent Publication No. 2023/0409013 A1 discloses a method and synchronization system for synchronizing plurality of events associated with one or more processes in assembly line for tracing entity.
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/JENNIFER L NORTON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2117