DETAILED ACTION
Claims 1-2, 4-13, 15, 17-19 and 21-23 are pending. Claims 3, 14, 16 and 20 are cancelled and claim 23 is new.
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 3/20/2026 has been entered.
Restriction
Amended claims 1-2, 4-11 are directed to an invention that is independent or distinct from the invention originally claimed for the following reasons: independent claim 1 recites a method that includes ‘the first sensor data is correlated to a first weather type and the second sensor data is correlated to a second weather type… generating a first equipment profile of the amusement park experience based on the first sensor data and a second equipment profile of the amusement park experience based on the second sensor data, wherein the first equipment profile is indicative of a first expected performance of the ride equipment during the first weather type and comprises a first baseline and a first threshold indicating a first acceptable range of the one or more operational ride parameters of the ride equipment during the first weather type; and wherein the second equipment profile is indicative of a second expected performance of the ride equipment during the second weather type and comprises a second baseline and a second threshold indicating a second acceptable range of the one or more operational ride parameters of the ride equipment during the second weather type; receiving additional sensor data via the plurality of sensors during a current weather event; determining that the current weather event corresponds to the first weather type; determining, based on the current weather event and in response to identifying characteristics of the additional sensor data that deviate from the first baseline and exceed the first threshold, that the ride equipment is operating anomalously’ and the originally examined claims 1-22 do not recite anything about weather types or multiple baselines associated with those types or receiving sensor data during a weather event and determining the type of weather event or determining an anomaly based on a weather event. Amended claim 1 is separate and distinct from the previously examined claims thus requiring an entirely new search. Dependent claims 2 and 4-11 depend on claim 1 and inherit all of the characteristics of that claim.
Since applicant has received an action on the merits for the originally presented invention, this invention has been constructively elected by original presentation for prosecution on the merits. Accordingly, claims 1-2 and 4-11 are withdrawn from consideration as being directed to a non-elected invention. See 37 CFR 1.142(b) and MPEP § 821.03.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, filed 3/20/26, have been fully considered but are not persuasive.
Applicant’s arguments regarding the rejection under 35 U.S.C. § 103 (pages 9-18) are moot as claims 1-2 and 4-11 are withdrawn (see above) and in view of the newly cited references, Chobot and Chemel, that are now used to reject claims 12-13, 15, 17-19 and 21-23. Also, Berno is no longer cited in the rejection.
For at least these reasons, the rejection of the claims is maintained.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 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 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 of this title, 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 set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied 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.
Claim(s) 12-13, 15 and 22 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Maycock et al. U.S. Patent Publication No. 20150336012 (hereinafter Maycock) in view of Chemel et al. U.S. Patent Publication No. 20120235579 (hereinafter Chemel).
Regarding claim 12, Maycock teaches a system [0019, Figs. 1 and 3 — a ride control system 10/100], comprising:
a network [0028-0029 — primary wireless network 50 ];
one or more communication hubs communicatively coupled with one another via the network [0028-0029, Figs. 1 and 3 — primary wireless network 50… vehicle 11 includes a vehicle transceiver 44 (e.g., may represent a primary vehicle transceiver and a backup vehicle transceiver) that is connected to the vehicle controller 20. The vehicle transceiver 44 communicates wirelessly with a primary transceiver 46 that is connected to the primary controller 48];
a plurality of sensors communicatively coupled to the one or more communication hubs and configured to acquire multiple layers of sensor data indicative of one or more operational parameters of scene equipment associated with an amusement park experience [0022-0024 — vehicle 11 includes a position tracking system 34 for monitoring its position within the course… reader 36 may sense the position indicator to provide the position information of the vehicle 11… memory 40 may store the position of the vehicle 11 at a specific time and/or during a period of time. The processor 38 may then access the memory 40 for the stored position and timing data and calculate a velocity of the vehicle 11; 0027 — The weight sensor is configured to sense the weight of all passengers and send the weight data to the vehicle controller 20; 0029 — Data is transferred between the primary controller 48 and the vehicle controller 20 via the primary wireless network 50. The vehicle controller 20 may transfer data indicative of the status of the vehicle to the primary controller 48. Such data may include the vehicle identifier, position, velocity, dynamic blocking zone, traveling direction, motor output power, loading condition, or the like; 0050 — the show event 51b may simulate the feeling of watching outside of a spaceship that is flying through a galaxy with many stars. The show event 51b may project a short motion picture showing the flying spaceship and the stars. The vehicle controller 20c may control the passenger platform 14c to move according to the scenes (scene equipment) of the motion picture to give the passenger the feeling of sitting in the spaceship that is flying through the stars.]; and
a controller configured to receive the sensor data from the plurality of sensors via the one or more communication hubs, wherein the controller is further configured to: compare the sensor data indicative of the one or more operational parameters of the scene equipment to a scene equipment profile, wherein the scene equipment profile comprises one or more threshold relative values that define expected scene equipment performance [0018 — recording operational status factors, such as velocity or motor output, over a period of time; 0022-0024 — vehicle 11 includes a position tracking system 34 for monitoring its position within the course… reader 36 may sense the position indicator to provide the position information of the vehicle 11… memory 40 may store the position of the vehicle 11 at a specific time and/or during a period of time. The processor 38 may then access the memory 40 for the stored position and timing data and calculate a velocity of the vehicle 11; 0027 — The weight sensor is configured to sense the weight of all passengers and send the weight data to the vehicle controller 20; 0029 — Data is transferred between the primary controller 48 and the vehicle controller 20 via the primary wireless network 50. The vehicle controller 20 may transfer data indicative of the status of the vehicle to the primary controller 48. Such data may include the vehicle identifier, position, velocity, dynamic blocking zone, traveling direction, motor output power, loading condition, or the like; 0031, 0054-0056 — the vehicle controller 11e may record data regarding the status of the vehicle 11e, such as the loading condition and the motor output power, over a period of time. Such data may be transferred to the primary controller 48 via the primary wireless network 50. The primary controller 48 may compare the collected data to a pre-determined threshold of loading conditions or motor output power to determine whether the vehicle 11e should be scheduled for maintenance… If the total loading condition is greater than the threshold, the vehicle 11e should be maintained. Otherwise, the vehicle 11e does not need maintenance (operating properly)… After determining the maintenance status of the vehicle 11e, the primary controller 48 may control the track switch 116 to correspondingly direct the vehicle 11e to either the main path 120 or the alternate path 122. For example, if the vehicle 11e should be maintained, the primary controller 48 may control the track switch 116 to connect the bridge track 118 with the alternate path 122 such that the vehicle 11e may enter into the maintenance station 124; 0050 — vehicle controller 20c may control the passenger platform 14c to move according to the scenes (scene equipment) of the motion picture to give the passenger the feeling of sitting in the spaceship that is flying through the stars];
identify a discrepancy between the one or more threshold relative values and the sensor data from the plurality of sensors based on the comparison, wherein the discrepancy is indicative of an equipment anomaly associated with the scene equipment, wherein the equipment anomaly comprises a deviation from the one or more threshold relative values; and perform a corrective action to address the equipment anomaly, wherein the corrective action comprises dynamically adjusting a subset of the one or more operational parameters of the scene equipment [0031, 0054-0056 — The primary controller 48 may compare the collected data to a pre-determined threshold of loading conditions or motor output power to determine whether the vehicle 11e should be scheduled for maintenance… If the total loading condition is greater than the threshold, the vehicle 11e should be maintained. Otherwise, the vehicle 11e does not need maintenance… After determining the maintenance status of the vehicle 11e, the primary controller 48 may control the track switch 116 to correspondingly direct the vehicle 11e to either the main path 120 or the alternate path 122. For example, if the vehicle 11e should be maintained (equipment anomaly), the primary controller 48 may control the track switch 116 to connect the bridge track 118 with the alternate path 122 such that the vehicle 11e may enter into the maintenance station 124 (corrective action to address the equipment anomaly); 0053 — the primary controller 48 may control one or both of the movements of the vehicle 11d and the movements of the dinosaur 114, including any other special effects (e.g., sound, visual, water, pneumatic), for synchronization. The synchronization may also be adjusted with respect to each vehicle 11a, 11b, 11c, 11d, 11e; 0049 — if the front dynamic blocking zone 130 of the vehicle 11a starts to overlap with the back dynamic blocking zone 136 of the vehicle 11c, the vehicle 11a is about to interfere or could be interfering with the vehicle 11c. Upon detecting such overlap of the dynamic blocking zones 130 and 136, the primary controller 48 may send instructions to the vehicle 11a to decelerate or stop… the primary controller 48 may send instructions to the front vehicle to accelerate, or send instructions to both vehicles to stop, in order to avoid interference between the two vehicles while maintaining the movement of other vehicles along the track 104 (corrective action to address the equipment anomaly)].
But Maycock fails to clearly specify a qualitative deviation.
However, Chemel teaches a qualitative deviation [0563 — the present invention may provide modular designs of the lighting systems with features that may be useful for power and lighting management in a variety of environments such as… stadiums… and some other types of environments; 0567-0568 — methods of determining a difference between a first ambient light level and a desired ambient light level. Exemplary methods include measuring a second ambient light level at a second position, determining the first ambient light level based on the second ambient light level, and determining a difference between the first ambient light level and the desired light level. Further exemplary methods may also include adjusting an illumination level to bring the first ambient light level into coincidence with the desired light level; — cf. paragraph [0027] of the instant specification/PGPub — qualitative information such as level of ambient lighting ].
Maycock and Chemel are analogous art. They relate to control systems for entertainment facilities.
Therefore at the time the invention was made, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify the above system, as taught by Maycock, by incorporating the above limitations, as taught by Chemel.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to do this modification in order to facilitate providing lighting at a desired level, as taught by Chemel [0567-0568]. In addition, it would be obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art to simply substitute the known qualitative deviation of Chemel for the known deviation of Maycock for the predictable result of system for adjusting parameters based on a qualitative deviation.
Regarding claim 13, the combination of Maycock and Chemel teaches all the limitations of the base claims as outlined above.
Further, Maycock teaches the plurality of sensors comprise a vibration sensor, a temperature sensor, a motion sensor, a speed sensor, an accelerometer, or any combination thereof [0018 — the ride control system may monitor the performance degradation of each of the plurality of ride vehicles by recording operational status factors, such as velocity/speed or motor output, over a period of time.; 0027 — vehicle 11 includes a weight sensor in the passenger platform 14; 0022-0024 — vehicle 11 includes a position tracking system 34 for monitoring its position within the course… reader 36 may sense the position indicator to provide the position information of the vehicle 11… memory 40 may store the position of the vehicle 11 at a specific time and/or during a period of time. The processor 38 may then access the memory 40 for the stored position and timing data and calculate a velocity/speed of the vehicle 11].
Regarding claim 15, the combination of Maycock and Chemel teaches all the limitations of the base claims as outlined above.
Further, Maycock teaches the one or more communication hubs [0028-0029, Figs. 1 and 3 — primary wireless network 50… vehicle 11 includes a vehicle transceiver 44 (e.g., may represent a primary vehicle transceiver and a backup vehicle transceiver) that is connected to the vehicle controller 20. The vehicle transceiver 44 communicates wirelessly with a primary transceiver 46 that is connected to the primary controller 48 ] are configured to, via the controller [0031, 0054-0056 — the vehicle controller 11e may record data regarding the status of the vehicle 11e, such as the loading condition and the motor output power, over a period of time. Such data may be transferred to the primary controller 48 via the primary wireless network 50. The primary controller 48 may compare the collected data to a pre-determined threshold of loading conditions or motor output power to determine whether the vehicle 11e should be scheduled for maintenance… If the total loading condition is greater than the threshold, the vehicle 11e should be maintained. Otherwise, the vehicle 11e does not need maintenance (operating properly)… After determining the maintenance status of the vehicle 11e, the primary controller 48 may control the track switch 116 to correspondingly direct the vehicle 11e to either the main path 120 or the alternate path 122. For example, if the vehicle 11e should be maintained, the primary controller 48 may control the track switch 116 to connect the bridge track 118 with the alternate path 122 such that the vehicle 11e may enter into the maintenance station 124]:
collect additional ride scene equipment sensor data from the plurality of sensors [0031, 0054-0056 — the vehicle controller 11e may record data regarding the status of the vehicle 11e, such as the loading condition and the motor output power, over a period of time. Such data may be transferred to the primary controller 48 via the primary wireless network 50. The primary controller 48 may compare the collected data to a pre-determined threshold of loading conditions or motor output power to determine whether the vehicle 11e should be scheduled for maintenance… If the total loading condition is greater than the threshold, the vehicle 11e should be maintained. Otherwise, the vehicle 11e does not need maintenance (operating properly)… After determining the maintenance status of the vehicle 11e, the primary controller 48 may control the track switch 116 to correspondingly direct the vehicle 11e to either the main path 120 or the alternate path 122. For example, if the vehicle 11e should be maintained, the primary controller 48 may control the track switch 116 to connect the bridge track 118 with the alternate path 122 such that the vehicle 11e may enter into the maintenance station 124; 0027 — vehicle 11 includes a weight sensor in the passenger platform 14; 0022-0024 — vehicle 11 includes a position tracking system 34 for monitoring its position within the course… reader 36 may sense the position indicator to provide the position information of the vehicle 11… memory 40 may store the position of the vehicle 11 at a specific time and/or during a period of time. The processor 38 may then access the memory 40 for the stored position and timing data and calculate a velocity of the vehicle 11; 0050 — the show event 51b may simulate the feeling of watching outside of a spaceship that is flying through a galaxy with many stars. The show event 51b may project a short motion picture showing the flying spaceship and the stars. The vehicle controller 20c may control the passenger platform 14c to move according to the scenes (scene equipment) of the motion picture to give the passenger the feeling of sitting in the spaceship that is flying through the stars];
analyze the additional scene equipment sensor data; and operate an actuator of an animated figure to control the animated figure based on the additional scene equipment sensor data [0031, 0054-0056 — The primary controller 48 may compare the collected data to a pre-determined threshold of loading conditions or motor output power to determine whether the vehicle 11e should be scheduled for maintenance… If the total loading condition is greater than the threshold, the vehicle 11e should be maintained. Otherwise, the vehicle 11e does not need maintenance (operating properly)… After determining the maintenance status of the vehicle 11e, the primary controller 48 may control the track switch 116 to correspondingly direct the vehicle 11e to either the main path 120 or the alternate path 122. For example, if the vehicle 11e should be maintained, the primary controller 48 may control the track switch 116 to connect the bridge track 118 with the alternate path 122 such that the vehicle 11e may enter into the maintenance station 124 (corrective action to address the discrepancy); 0053 — the primary controller 48 may control one or both of the movements of the vehicle 11d and the movements of the dinosaur 114, including any other special effects (e.g., sound, visual, water, pneumatic), for synchronization. The synchronization may also be adjusted with respect to each vehicle 11a, 11b, 11c, 11d, 11e; 0049 — if the front dynamic blocking zone 130 of the vehicle 11a starts to overlap with the back dynamic blocking zone 136 of the vehicle 11c, the vehicle 11a is about to interfere or could be interfering with the vehicle 11c. Upon detecting such overlap of the dynamic blocking zones 130 and 136, the primary controller 48 may send instructions to the vehicle 11a to decelerate or stop… the primary controller 48 may send instructions to the front vehicle to accelerate, or send instructions to both vehicles to stop, in order to avoid interference between the two vehicles while maintaining the movement of other vehicles along the track 104; 0050 — the show event 51b may simulate the feeling of watching outside of a spaceship that is flying through a galaxy with many stars. The show event 51b may project a short motion picture showing the flying spaceship and the stars. The vehicle controller 20c may control the passenger platform 14c to move according to the scenes (scene equipment) of the motion picture to give the passenger the feeling of sitting in the spaceship that is flying through the stars].
Regarding claim 22, the combination of Maycock and Chemel teaches all the limitations of the base claims as outlined above.
Further, Maycock teaches to control operation of the scene equipment [0050 — the show event 51b may simulate the feeling of watching outside of a spaceship that is flying through a galaxy with many stars. The show event 51b may project a short motion picture showing the flying spaceship and the stars. The vehicle controller 20c may control the passenger platform 14c to move according to the scenes (scene equipment) of the motion picture to give the passenger the feeling of sitting in the spaceship that is flying through the stars], the controller is configured to:
dynamically adjust the subset of the one or more operational parameters of the scene equipment based on the discrepancy being within a threshold range of the one or more threshold relative values [0031, 0054-0056 — The primary controller 48 may compare the collected data to a pre-determined threshold of loading conditions or motor output power to determine whether the vehicle 11e should be scheduled for maintenance… If the total loading condition is greater than the threshold, the vehicle 11e should be maintained. Otherwise, the vehicle 11e does not need maintenance (operating properly)… After determining the maintenance status of the vehicle 11e, the primary controller 48 may control the track switch 116 to correspondingly direct the vehicle 11e to either the main path 120 or the alternate path 122. For example, if the vehicle 11e should be maintained, the primary controller 48 may control the track switch 116 to connect the bridge track 118 with the alternate path 122 such that the vehicle 11e may enter into the maintenance station 124 (corrective action to address the equipment anomaly); 0049 — if the front dynamic blocking zone 130 of the vehicle 11a starts to overlap with the back dynamic blocking zone 136 of the vehicle 11c, the vehicle 11a is about to interfere or could be interfering with the vehicle 11c. Upon detecting such overlap of the dynamic blocking zones 130 and 136, the primary controller 48 may send instructions to the vehicle 11a to decelerate or stop… the primary controller 48 may send instructions to the front vehicle to accelerate, or send instructions to both vehicles to stop, in order to avoid interference between the two vehicles while maintaining the movement of other vehicles along the track 104]; and
suspend operation of the scene equipment based on the discrepancy exceeding the threshold range [0052 — primary controller 48 may control one or both of the movements of the vehicle 11b and the movements of the robot 108 for synchronization. For example, the primary controller 48 may adjust the traveling velocity of the vehicle 11b and/or speed of the internal movement of the vehicle 11b (e.g., adjusting a direction 152 of the passenger platform 14a relative to the base 12a) to match the operational speed of the sequence of the movements of the robot 108. Similarly as described above, the primary controller 48 may synchronize the show event 51a with different vehicles 11a, 11b, 11c, 11d, 11 e differently, such as adjusting the operational speed to different values to match the different traveling velocity of each vehicle 11a, 11b, 11c, 11d, 11 e. As a specific example, the speed of the robot 108 along the show tack 110 may be synchronized with the speed of the vehicle 11b along the track 104; 0059 — the primary controller 48 sends instructions to each of the plurality of vehicles 11 to control the movement of each of the plurality of vehicles 11 independently (block 170). The movement includes the external movement of each of the plurality of vehicles 11, such as running and stopping within the course. The movement also includes the internal movement of each of the plurality of vehicles 11, such as roll, tilt, and yaw of the respective passenger platform 14 with respect to the respective base 12 of each of the plurality of vehicles 11. For example, the primary controller 48 may direct a first vehicle of the plurality of vehicles 11 to decelerate or stop (suspend operation) if the primary controller 48 determines the dynamic blocking zone of the first vehicle starts to overlap with the dynamic blocking zone of a second vehicle traveling in front of the first vehicle].
Claim(s) 17-18 and 21 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Maycock in view of Chobot U.S. Patent Publication No. 20130200806 (hereinafter Chobot).
Regarding claim 17, Maycock teaches a tangible, non-transitory, computer-readable medium, comprising computer-readable instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of an electronic device [0023 — processor 38 may include one or more processing devices, and the memory 40 (e.g., a hard drive) may include one or more tangible, non-transitory, machine-readable media. By way of example, such machine-readable media can include RAM, ROM, EPROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM, or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium which can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of machine-executable instructions or data structures and which can be accessed by the processor 38; 0037 — primary controller 48 may also include a memory 58 for storing instructions executable by the processor 59 to perform the methods and control actions of the system including the primary wireless network 50 and the vehicle 11. The processor 59 may include one or more processing devices, and the memory 58 may include one or more tangible, non-transitory, machine-readable media. By way of example, such machine-readable media can include RAM, ROM, EPROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM, or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium which can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of machine-executable instructions or data structures and which can be accessed by the processor 59], cause the electronic device to:
receive, via a plurality of sensors, first sensor data indicative of component operational parameters of a first set of equipment associated with an amusement park experience, wherein the first sensor data is indicative of an expected performance of the first set of equipment [0018 — recording operational status factors, such as velocity or motor output, over a period of time; 0022-0024 — vehicle 11 includes a position tracking system 34 for monitoring its position within the course… reader 36 may sense the position indicator to provide the position information of the vehicle 11… memory 40 may store the position of the vehicle 11 at a specific time and/or during a period of time. The processor 38 may then access the memory 40 for the stored position and timing data and calculate a velocity of the vehicle 11; 0027 — The weight sensor is configured to sense the weight of all passengers and send the weight data to the vehicle controller 20; 0029 — Data is transferred between the primary controller 48 and the vehicle controller 20 via the primary wireless network 50. The vehicle controller 20 may transfer data indicative of the status of the vehicle to the primary controller 48. Such data may include the vehicle identifier, position, velocity, dynamic blocking zone, traveling direction, motor output power, loading condition, or the like; 0031, 0054-0056 — the vehicle controller 11e may record data regarding the status of the vehicle 11e, such as the loading condition and the motor output power, over a period of time. Such data may be transferred to the primary controller 48 via the primary wireless network 50. The primary controller 48 may compare the collected data to a pre-determined threshold of loading conditions or motor output power to determine whether the vehicle 11e should be scheduled for maintenance… If the total loading condition is greater than the threshold, the vehicle 11e should be maintained. Otherwise, the vehicle 11e does not need maintenance (operating properly)… After determining the maintenance status of the vehicle 11e, the primary controller 48 may control the track switch 116 to correspondingly direct the vehicle 11e to either the main path 120 or the alternate path 122. For example, if the vehicle 11e should be maintained, the primary controller 48 may control the track switch 116 to connect the bridge track 118 with the alternate path 122 such that the vehicle 11e may enter into the maintenance station 124];
receive, via the plurality of sensors, second sensor data indicative of a current performance of the first set of equipment [0054 — the vehicle controller 11e may record data regarding the status of the vehicle 11e, such as the loading condition and the motor output power, over a period of time. Such data may be transferred to the primary controller 48 via the primary wireless network 50. The primary controller 48 may compare the collected data to a pre-determined threshold of loading conditions or motor output power to determine whether the vehicle 11e should be scheduled for maintenance];
identify, in response to identifying characteristics of the second sensor data that deviate that deviate from the first sensor data by a threshold amount, an equipment anomaly associated with the first set of equipment; and perform a corrective action to address the equipment anomaly, wherein the equipment anomaly is indicative of the first set of equipment having malfunctioning equipment, and wherein the corrective action comprises dynamically adjusting equipment to account for the malfunctioning equipment of the first set of equipment [0031, 0054-0056 — The primary controller 48 may compare the collected data to a pre-determined threshold of loading conditions or motor output power to determine whether the vehicle 11e should be scheduled for maintenance… If the total loading condition is greater than the threshold, the vehicle 11e should be maintained. Otherwise, the vehicle 11e does not need maintenance (operating properly)… After determining the maintenance status of the vehicle 11e, the primary controller 48 may control the track switch 116 to correspondingly direct the vehicle 11e to either the main path 120 or the alternate path 122. For example, if the vehicle 11e should be maintained, the primary controller 48 may control the track switch 116 to connect the bridge track 118 with the alternate path 122 such that the vehicle 11e may enter into the maintenance station 124 (corrective action to address the equipment anomaly); 0049 — if the front dynamic blocking zone 130 of the vehicle 11a starts to overlap with the back dynamic blocking zone 136 of the vehicle 11c, the vehicle 11a is about to interfere or could be interfering with the vehicle 11c. Upon detecting such overlap of the dynamic blocking zones 130 and 136, the primary controller 48 may send instructions to the vehicle 11a to decelerate or stop… the primary controller 48 may send instructions to the front vehicle to accelerate, or send instructions to both vehicles to stop, in order to avoid interference between the two vehicles while maintaining the movement of other vehicles along the track 104].
But Maycock fails to clearly specify adjusting a second set of equipment to account for the malfunctioning equipment of the first set of equipment.
However, Chobot teaches adjusting a second set of equipment to account for the malfunctioning equipment of the first set of equipment [0122 — a lighting device can be a device which illuminates an area or volume, e.g., a structure, a swimming pool or spa… a stadium; 0200 — running one or more light source intermittently and/or adjusting the current supplied to one or more light sources in response to a user command, a detected change in intensity or color of light output, a detected change in an ambient characteristic such as temperature or background light, etc.; 0216 — a set of parallel solid state light emitter strings (i.e., two or more strings of solid state light emitters arranged in parallel with each other) is arranged in series with a power line, such that current is supplied through the power line to each of the respective strings of solid state light emitters…. the relative quantities of solid state light emitters that emit light of different respective hues differ from one string to the next, e.g., a first string contains a first percentage of solid state light emitters that emit light within a first hue and/or wavelength range (e.g., dominant wavelength of 400 nm to 480 nm, optionally packaged with luminescent material that emits light of dominant wavelength in a third wavelength range, e.g., 500 nm to 585 nm) and a second percentage of solid state light emitters that emit light within a second hue and/or wavelength range (e.g., dominant wavelength of 600 nm to 640 nm), and a second string contains a third percentage (different from the first percentage) of solid state light emitters that emit light within the first wavelength range and/or hue and a fourth percentage of solid state light emitters that emit light within the second wavelength range and/or hue. As a representative example, first and second strings each contain solely (i.e., 100%) 400 nm to 480 nm dominant wavelength solid state light emitters (optionally packaged with luminescent material that emits light of dominant wavelength in a third wavelength range, e.g., 500 nm to 585 nm), and a third string contains 50% 400 nm to 480 nm dominant wavelength solid state light emitters and 50% 600 nm to 640 nm dominant wavelength solid state light emitters (each of the three strings being electrically connected in parallel to each other and in series with a common power line). By doing so, it is possible to easily adjust the relative intensities of the light of the respective wavelengths, and thereby effectively navigate within the CIE Diagram and/or compensate for other changes. For example, the brightness of red light can be increased, when necessary, in order to compensate for any reduction of the brightness of the light generated by the 600 nm to 640 nm dominant wavelength solid state light emitters. Thus, for instance, in the representative example described above, by increasing or decreasing the current supplied to the third power line, and/or by increasing or decreasing the current supplied to the first power line and/or the second power line (and/or by intermittently interrupting the supply of power to the first power line or the second power line), the x, y coordinates of the mixture of light emitted from the lighting device can be appropriately adjusted (power lines are first/second sets of equipment); 0011 — The expression "hue", as used herein, means light that has a color shade and saturation that correspond to a specific point on a CIE Chromaticity Diagram, i.e., a point that can be characterized with x, y coordinates on the 1931 CIE Chromaticity Diagram or with u', v' coordinates on the 1976 CIE Chromaticity Diagram.].
Maycock and Chobot are analogous art. They relate to control systems for entertainment facilities.
Therefore at the time the invention was made, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify the above system, as taught by Maycock, by incorporating the above limitations, as taught by Chobot.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to do this modification in order to automatically compensate/correct for undesired changes a first set of equipment by taking advantage of the existing capabilities of second set of equipment, as suggested by Chobot [0216].
Regarding claim 18, the combination of Maycock and Chobot teaches all the limitations of the base claims as outlined above.
Further, Chobot teaches the corrective action comprises dynamically adjusting a luminance provided by the second set of equipment [0122 — a lighting device can be a device which illuminates an area or volume, e.g., a structure, a swimming pool or spa… a stadium; 0200 — running one or more light source intermittently and/or adjusting the current supplied to one or more light sources in response to a user command, a detected change in intensity or color of light output, a detected change in an ambient characteristic such as temperature or background light, etc.; 0216 — a set of parallel solid state light emitter strings (i.e., two or more strings of solid state light emitters arranged in parallel with each other) is arranged in series with a power line, such that current is supplied through the power line to each of the respective strings of solid state light emitters…. the relative quantities of solid state light emitters that emit light of different respective hues differ from one string to the next, e.g., a first string contains a first percentage of solid state light emitters that emit light within a first hue and/or wavelength range (e.g., dominant wavelength of 400 nm to 480 nm, optionally packaged with luminescent material that emits light of dominant wavelength in a third wavelength range, e.g., 500 nm to 585 nm) and a second percentage of solid state light emitters that emit light within a second hue and/or wavelength range (e.g., dominant wavelength of 600 nm to 640 nm), and a second string contains a third percentage (different from the first percentage) of solid state light emitters that emit light within the first wavelength range and/or hue and a fourth percentage of solid state light emitters that emit light within the second wavelength range and/or hue. As a representative example, first and second strings each contain solely (i.e., 100%) 400 nm to 480 nm dominant wavelength solid state light emitters (optionally packaged with luminescent material that emits light of dominant wavelength in a third wavelength range, e.g., 500 nm to 585 nm), and a third string contains 50% 400 nm to 480 nm dominant wavelength solid state light emitters and 50% 600 nm to 640 nm dominant wavelength solid state light emitters (each of the three strings being electrically connected in parallel to each other and in series with a common power line). By doing so, it is possible to easily adjust the relative intensities of the light of the respective wavelengths, and thereby effectively navigate within the CIE Diagram and/or compensate for other changes. For example, the brightness of red light can be increased, when necessary, in order to compensate for any reduction of the brightness of the light generated by the 600 nm to 640 nm dominant wavelength solid state light emitters. Thus, for instance, in the representative example described above, by increasing or decreasing the current supplied to the third power line, and/or by increasing or decreasing the current supplied to the first power line and/or the second power line (and/or by intermittently interrupting the supply of power to the first power line or the second power line), the x, y coordinates of the mixture of light emitted from the lighting device can be appropriately adjusted (power lines are first/second sets of equipment); 0011 — The expression "hue", as used herein, means light that has a color shade and saturation that correspond to a specific point on a CIE Chromaticity Diagram, i.e., a point that can be characterized with x, y coordinates on the 1931 CIE Chromaticity Diagram or with u', v' coordinates on the 1976 CIE Chromaticity Diagram].
Therefore at the time the invention was made, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify the above system, as taught by Maycock, by incorporating the above limitations, as taught by Chobot.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to do this modification in order to automatically compensate for undesired changes in lighting levels, as taught by Chobot [0216].
Regarding claim 21, the combination of Maycock and Chobot teaches all the limitations of the base claims as outlined above.
Further, Maycock teaches the corrective action further comprises performing an automated maintenance task on the malfunctioning equipment to resolve the equipment anomaly [0031, 0054-0056 — The primary controller 48 may compare the collected data to a pre-determined threshold of loading conditions or motor output power to determine whether the vehicle 11e should be scheduled for maintenance… If the total loading condition is greater than the threshold, the vehicle 11e should be maintained. Otherwise, the vehicle 11e does not need maintenance (operating properly)… After determining the maintenance status of the vehicle 11e, the primary controller 48 may control the track switch 116 to correspondingly direct the vehicle 11e to either the main path 120 or the alternate path 122. For example, if the vehicle 11e should be maintained, the primary controller 48 may control the track switch 116 to connect the bridge track 118 with the alternate path 122 such that the vehicle 11e may enter into the maintenance station 124 (corrective action to address the equipment anomaly); 0049 — if the front dynamic blocking zone 130 of the vehicle 11a starts to overlap with the back dynamic blocking zone 136 of the vehicle 11c, the vehicle 11a is about to interfere or could be interfering with the vehicle 11c. Upon detecting such overlap of the dynamic blocking zones 130 and 136, the primary controller 48 may send instructions to the vehicle 11a to decelerate or stop… the primary controller 48 may send instructions to the front vehicle to accelerate, or send instructions to both vehicles to stop, in order to avoid interference between the two vehicles while maintaining the movement of other vehicles along the track 104].
Claim(s) 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over the combination of Maycock and Chobot in view of Chemel and Tanaka U.S. Patent Publication No. 20210178615 (hereinafter Tanaka).
Regarding claim 19, the combination of Maycock and Chobot teaches all the limitations of the base claims as outlined above.
Further, Maycock teaches using the first sensor data, the second sensor data, or both to detect quantitative deviations from the first sensor data [0031, 0054-0056 — The primary controller 48 may compare the collected data to a pre-determined threshold of loading conditions or motor output power to determine whether the vehicle 11e should be scheduled for maintenance… If the total loading condition is greater than the threshold, the vehicle 11e should be maintained. Otherwise, the vehicle 11e does not need maintenance… After determining the maintenance status of the vehicle 11e, the primary controller 48 may control the track switch 116 to correspondingly direct the vehicle 11e to either the main path 120 or the alternate path 122. For example, if the vehicle 11e should be maintained (equipment anomaly), the primary controller 48 may control the track switch 116 to connect the bridge track 118 with the alternate path 122 such that the vehicle 11e may enter into the maintenance station 124 (corrective action to address the equipment anomaly); 0053 — the primary controller 48 may control one or both of the movements of the vehicle 11d and the movements of the dinosaur 114, including any other special effects (e.g., sound, visual, water, pneumatic), for synchronization. The synchronization may also be adjusted with respect to each vehicle 11a, 11b, 11c, 11d, 11e; 0049 — if the front dynamic blocking zone 130 of the vehicle 11a starts to overlap with the back dynamic blocking zone 136 of the vehicle 11c, the vehicle 11a is about to interfere or could be interfering with the vehicle 11c. Upon detecting such overlap of the dynamic blocking zones 130 and 136, the primary controller 48 may send instructions to the vehicle 11a to decelerate or stop… the primary controller 48 may send instructions to the front vehicle to accelerate, or send instructions to both vehicles to stop, in order to avoid interference between the two vehicles while maintaining the movement of other vehicles along the track 104].
Further, Chemel teaches using the first sensor data, the second sensor data, or both to detect qualitative deviations from the first sensor data [0563 — the present invention may provide modular designs of the lighting systems with features that may be useful for power and lighting management in a variety of environments such as… stadiums… and some other types of environments; 0567-0568 — methods of determining a difference between a first ambient light level and a desired ambient light level. Exemplary methods include measuring a second ambient light level at a second position, determining the first ambient light level based on the second ambient light level, and determining a difference between the first ambient light level and the desired light level. Further exemplary methods may also include adjusting an illumination level to bring the first ambient light level into coincidence with the desired light level; — cf. paragraph [0027] of the instant specification/PGPub — qualitative information such as level of ambient lighting].
Maycock, Chobot and Chemel are analogous art. They relate to control systems for entertainment facilities.
Therefore at the time the invention was made, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify the above computer-readable medium, as taught by the combination of Maycock and Chobot, by incorporating the above limitations, as taught by Chemel.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to do this modification in order to facilitate providing lighting at a desired level, as taught by Chemel [0567-0568]. In addition, it would be obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art to simply substitute a known deviation that includes a qualitative deviation of Chemel for the known deviation of Maycock for the predictable result of system for adjusting parameters based on quantitative and qualitative deviations.
But the combination of Maycock, Chobot and Chemel fails to clearly specify using machine learning on the sensor data to detect deviations.
However, Tanaka teaches using machine learning on the sensor data to detect deviations [0104-0108 — execute machine learning to create a leaning model according to the data on the abnormality having been detected in the respective speed reducers 14 and the history of the maintenance having been made. In particular, the correlation analysis unit 25 executes the machine learning for learning patterns of the maintenance data having a high probability of the occurrence of abnormality, in accordance with the maintenance data on the respective speed reducers 14 at least within a part of periods stored in the maintenance history DB 32. The correlation analysis unit 25 also detects an abnormality of the respective speed reducers 14 in accordance with the results of the machine learning; 0111 — Any apparatus including a rotating mechanism and a transmitting mechanism thereof can be a target for the abnormality diagnosis, such as a rotating mechanism of a moving object, a moving object such as playground equipment in an amusement park].
Maycock, Chobot, Chemel and Tanaka are analogous art. They relate to control systems for entertainment facilities.
Therefore at the time the invention was made, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify the above computer-readable medium, as taught by the combination of Maycock, Chobot and Chemel, by incorporating the above limitations, as taught by Tanaka.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to do this modification in order to automate the deviation detection process and utilize self-learning to enhance detection accuracy and efficiency.
Claim(s) 23 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over the combination of Maycock and Chemel in view of Chobot.
Regarding claim 23, the combination of Maycock and Chemel teaches all the limitations of the base claims as outlined above.
Further, Maycock teaches at least one of the one or more threshold relative values is indicative of an expected value of a first set the scene equipment [0031, 0054-0056 — the vehicle controller 11e may record data regarding the status of the vehicle 11e, such as the loading condition and the motor output power, over a period of time. Such data may be transferred to the primary controller 48 via the primary wireless network 50. The primary controller 48 may compare the collected data to a pre-determined threshold of loading conditions or motor output power to determine whether the vehicle 11e should be scheduled for maintenance… If the total loading condition is greater than the threshold, the vehicle 11e should be maintained. Otherwise, the vehicle 11e does not need maintenance (operating properly)… After determining the maintenance status of the vehicle 11e, the primary controller 48 may control the track switch 116 to correspondingly direct the vehicle 11e to either the main path 120 or the alternate path 122. For example, if the vehicle 11e should be maintained, the primary controller 48 may control the track switch 116 to connect the bridge track 118 with the alternate path 122 such that the vehicle 11e may enter into the maintenance station 124; 0050 — vehicle controller 20c may control the passenger platform 14c to move according to the scenes (scene equipment) of the motion picture to give the passenger the feeling of sitting in the spaceship that is flying through the stars], the deviation is indicative of a current value associated with the first set deviating from the expected value, and the corrective action comprises dynamically adjusting a parameter to mitigate the deviation [0031, 0054-0056 — The primary controller 48 may compare the collected data to a pre-determined threshold of loading conditions or motor output power to determine whether the vehicle 11e should be scheduled for maintenance… If the total loading condition is greater than the threshold, the vehicle 11e should be maintained. Otherwise, the vehicle 11e does not need maintenance… After determining the maintenance status of the vehicle 11e, the primary controller 48 may control the track switch 116 to correspondingly direct the vehicle 11e to either the main path 120 or the alternate path 122. For example, if the vehicle 11e should be maintained (equipment anomaly), the primary controller 48 may control the track switch 116 to connect the bridge track 118 with the alternate path 122 such that the vehicle 11e may enter into the maintenance station 124 (corrective action to address the equipment anomaly); 0053 — the primary controller 48 may control one or both of the movements of the vehicle 11d and the movements of the dinosaur 114, including any other special effects (e.g., sound, visual, water, pneumatic), for synchronization. The synchronization may also be adjusted with respect to each vehicle 11a, 11b, 11c, 11d, 11e; 0049 — if the front dynamic blocking zone 130 of the vehicle 11a starts to overlap with the back dynamic blocking zone 136 of the vehicle 11c, the vehicle 11a is about to interfere or could be interfering with the vehicle 11c. Upon detecting such overlap of the dynamic blocking zones 130 and 136, the primary controller 48 may send instructions to the vehicle 11a to decelerate or stop… the primary controller 48 may send instructions to the front vehicle to accelerate, or send instructions to both vehicles to stop, in order to avoid interference between the two vehicles while maintaining the movement of other vehicles along the track 104 (corrective action to address the equipment anomaly)].
Further, Chemel teaches a qualitative deviation [0563 — the present invention may provide modular designs of the lighting systems with features that may be useful for power and lighting management in a variety of environments such as… stadiums… and some other types of environments; 0567-0568 — methods of determining a difference between a first ambient light level and a desired ambient light level. Exemplary methods include measuring a second ambient light level at a second position, determining the first ambient light level based on the second ambient light level, and determining a difference between the first ambient light level and the desired light level. Further exemplary methods may also include adjusting an illumination level to bring the first ambient light level into coincidence with the desired light level; — cf. paragraph [0027] of the instant specification/PGPub — qualitative information such as level of ambient lighting ].
But the combination of Maycock and Chemel fails to clearly specify a luminance of a first set light of the equipment, the deviation is indicative of a current luminance associated with the first set light deviating from the luminance, and the corrective action comprises dynamically adjusting a current supplied to the first set light to mitigate the deviation.
However, Chobot teaches a luminance of a first set light of the equipment, the deviation is indicative of a current luminance associated with the first set light deviating from the luminance, and the corrective action comprises dynamically adjusting a current supplied to the first set light to mitigate the deviation [0122 — a lighting device can be a device which illuminates an area or volume, e.g., a structure, a swimming pool or spa… a stadium; 0200 — running one or more light source intermittently and/or adjusting the current supplied to one or more light sources in response to a user command, a detected change in intensity or color of light output, a detected change in an ambient characteristic such as temperature or background light, etc.; 0216 — a set of parallel solid state light emitter strings (i.e., two or more strings of solid state light emitters arranged in parallel with each other) is arranged in series with a power line, such that current is supplied through the power line to each of the respective strings of solid state light emitters…. the relative quantities of solid state light emitters that emit light of different respective hues differ from one string to the next, e.g., a first string contains a first percentage of solid state light emitters that emit light within a first hue and/or wavelength range (e.g., dominant wavelength of 400 nm to 480 nm, optionally packaged with luminescent material that emits light of dominant wavelength in a third wavelength range, e.g., 500 nm to 585 nm) and a second percentage of solid state light emitters that emit light within a second hue and/or wavelength range (e.g., dominant wavelength of 600 nm to 640 nm), and a second string contains a third percentage (different from the first percentage) of solid state light emitters that emit light within the first wavelength range and/or hue and a fourth percentage of solid state light emitters that emit light within the second wavelength range and/or hue. As a representative example, first and second strings each contain solely (i.e., 100%) 400 nm to 480 nm dominant wavelength solid state light emitters (optionally packaged with luminescent material that emits light of dominant wavelength in a third wavelength range, e.g., 500 nm to 585 nm), and a third string contains 50% 400 nm to 480 nm dominant wavelength solid state light emitters and 50% 600 nm to 640 nm dominant wavelength solid state light emitters (each of the three strings being electrically connected in parallel to each other and in series with a common power line). By doing so, it is possible to easily adjust the relative intensities of the light of the respective wavelengths, and thereby effectively navigate within the CIE Diagram and/or compensate for other changes. For example, the brightness of red light can be increased, when necessary, in order to compensate for any reduction of the brightness of the light generated by the 600 nm to 640 nm dominant wavelength solid state light emitters. Thus, for instance, in the representative example described above, by increasing or decreasing the current supplied to the third power line, and/or by increasing or decreasing the current supplied to the first power line and/or the second power line (and/or by intermittently interrupting the supply of power to the first power line or the second power line), the x, y coordinates of the mixture of light emitted from the lighting device can be appropriately adjusted; 0011 — The expression "hue", as used herein, means light that has a color shade and saturation that correspond to a specific point on a CIE Chromaticity Diagram, i.e., a point that can be characterized with x, y coordinates on the 1931 CIE Chromaticity Diagram or with u', v' coordinates on the 1976 CIE Chromaticity Diagram.].
Maycock, Chemel and Chobot are analogous art. They relate to control systems for entertainment facilities.
Therefore at the time the invention was made, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify the above system, as taught by the combination of Maycock and Chemel, by incorporating the above limitations, as taught by Chobot.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to do this modification in order to automatically compensate for undesired changes in lighting levels, as taught by Chobot [0216].
Citation of Pertinent Prior Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Panopoulos et al. U.S. Patent Publication No. 20150035437 discloses an LED lighting system that adjusts the current to increase brightness and may be applied at an amusement park.
Note that any citations to specific, pages, columns, lines, or figures in the prior art references and any interpretation of the reference should not be considered to be limiting in any way. A reference is relevant for all it contains and may be relied upon for all that it would have reasonably suggested to one having ordinary skill in the art. See MPEP 2123.
Conclusion
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/BERNARD G LINDSAY/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2119
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