DETAILED ACTION
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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group I, claims 1-14 in the reply filed on 08 October 2025 is acknowledged.
Claims 15-18 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected election, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 08 October 2025.
Drawings
New corrected drawings in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in this application because the drawings are generally unclear when scanned into black and white. For example, it is hard to see where the arrows are pointing towards and corresponding reference numbers in Figs. 1B, 2, 4, 5B, 6A, 6C, 6D, 7B, and 9. The handwritten reference numbers and text in the figures should also be drafted more clearly. Applicant is advised to employ the services of a competent patent draftsperson outside the Office, as the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office no longer prepares new drawings. The corrected drawings are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. The requirement for corrected drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Objections
Claims 1-2 and 14 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Regarding claim 1, lines 1-2, “the apparatus for monitoring the contents of an asset” should be changed to --the system for monitoring the contents of the asset--.
Regarding claim 2, line 8, “security tab” should be changed to --protrusion--.
Regarding claim 14, the claim should depend from claim 5 instead of claim 14.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1, 3, 5-12, and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Cosson et al. (WO 2021/148749) (hereinafter Cosson).
Regarding claim 1, Cosson teaches a system [sensor device 1] compatible with an aperture of an asset [container 2], the system for monitoring the contents of the asset [level of material M] (see Abstract, Figs. 1-6), the system removable from the aperture (Para [0092-0093]), comprising:
a housing [shell 11] including at least one first connection interface on an exterior surface of the housing [fixing means 16] (see Figs. 4-6);
a sensor contained within the housing [level sensor 12 housed inside shell 11] (Para [0067], see Figs. 1 and 1bis);
a lens contained within the housing [at least one lens E19, R19] (Para [0140], see Fig. 1bis);
a power supply coupled to the sensor [energy storage means such as a battery] (Para [0086]);
an adaptor [connection means 3], the adaptor including at least one second connection interface [threads 31] configured to removably, lockably mate with the at least one first connection interface [fixing means 16 comprises internal thread T16 configured to cooperate by screwing/unscrewing with thread 31 of connection means 3] (Para [0091], see Figs. 5-6), the adapter including a bottom end removably connectable with the aperture of the asset [connecting means removably attached to container 2] (Para [0170]), wherein the aperture of the asset is substantially sealed upon insertion of the bottom end therein [sealed fixing between said sensor device 1 and connection means 3, and therefore the container 2] (Para [0092-0093], see Figs. 5-7).
Regarding claim 3, Cosson as applied to claim 1 above teaches the claimed invention, in addition to wherein the housing is fluid-sealed [shell 11 for isolation and protection from the surrounding environment] (Para [0101]).
Regarding claims 5 and 14, Cosson as applied to claim 1 above teaches the claimed invention, in addition to wherein the sensor is a non-contact sensor, a level sensor, a fluid-level sensor, or a combination thereof, wherein the non-contact sensor is at least one of an electromagnetic sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, a pressure sensor, and a radar sensor [level sensor 12 can be radar, lidar, infrared, laser] (Para [0094-0095]).
Regarding claim 6, Cosson as applied to claim 1 above teaches the claimed invention, in addition to wherein the housing includes a cable channel [wired transmission by cable, fiber, wires] (Para [0229]).
Regarding claim 7, Cosson as applied to claim 1 above teaches the claimed invention, in addition to wherein the housing is formed by an upper body section and a lower body section coupled together by at least one fastener (Para [0104], see Figs. 4-7).
Regarding claim 8, Cosson as applied to claim 1 above teaches the claimed invention, in addition to wherein the housing and the adapter include closed bottom ends [shell 11 and connection means 3 together having closed bottom end along lower part 11I with measurement window 15 made of a transparent material preventing penetration of external elements at the level of said measuring window] (Para [0085], see Figs. 4-6).
Regarding claim 9, Cosson as applied to claim 1 above teaches the claimed invention, in addition to wherein the housing includes a closed bottom end [lower part 11I of shell 11]; and wherein the adapter [connection means 3] includes an open bottom end (see Figs. 4-6).
Regarding claims 10-11, Cosson as applied to claim 1 above teaches the claimed invention, in addition to further comprising a cable assembly comprising a flexible cable and a connector [wired transmission by coaxial cable, optical fiber, telephone wires, DSL cable, or Ethernet cable] (Para [0229]).
Regarding claim 12, Cosson as applied to claim 1 above teaches the claimed invention, in addition to wherein the bottom end of the adaptor includes threads [connection means 3 comprises a thread 31 surrounding said through bore 32] (see Claim 18, Figs. 5-6).
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 2 and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cosson as applied to claims 1 and 12 above.
Regarding claim 2, Cosson as applied to claim 1 above teaches the claimed invention, except for wherein the first connection interface includes at least one protrusion, wherein the second connection interface includes at least one slot, each of the at least one slot including a vertical channel connected to a horizontal channel, the vertical channel passing through an upwardly facing surface of the adaptor, the horizontal channel arranged substantially perpendicular to the horizontal channel, the vertical channel and the horizontal channel sized to allow the at least one protrusion to pass therethrough; and wherein the at least one protrusion quantity equals the at least one slot quantity. The Examiner notes that the claimed limitations of claim 2 describe a typical bayonet connector system. Cosson additionally teaches an alternate embodiment wherein the threaded connection can be replaced with a bayonet system (Para [0093]). It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art at the time of the filing of the invention to modify Cosson with the alternate teaching of Cosson such that wherein the first connection interface includes at least one protrusion, wherein the second connection interface includes at least one slot, each of the at least one slot including a vertical channel connected to a horizontal channel, the vertical channel passing through an upwardly facing surface of the adaptor, the horizontal channel arranged substantially perpendicular to the horizontal channel, the vertical channel and the horizontal channel sized to allow the at least one protrusion to pass therethrough; and wherein the at least one protrusion quantity equals the at least one slot quantity, in order to provide another robust, waterproof, and easily and quickly assembled/dismantled fixing system (in this case, a bayonet fixing system).
Regarding claim 13, Cosson as applied to claim 12 above teaches the claimed invention, except for wherein the threads are two-inch National Pipe Tapered threads. The instant specification appears to indicate that the choice of this specific size of thread is not critical to the invention, as other various threaded connections could be chosen (Para [0054]). It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art at the time of the filing of the invention to modify Cosson to choose a standardized thread size, such as two-inch NPT threads, based on considerations such as cost and availability of materials. Additionally, it has been held that discovering an optimum value of a result effective variable involves only routine skill in the art. In re Boesch, 617 F.2d 272, 205 USPQ 215 (CCPA 1980).
Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cosson as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Wilkie et al. (US 2008/0079628 A1) (hereinafter Wilkie).
Regarding claim 4, Cosson as applied to claim 1 above teaches the claimed invention, except for further comprising a vent penetrating a wall of the housing; and a vent membrane covering the vent. Wilkie teaches a level measurement system comprising a housing having a vent penetrating a wall of the housing and a vent membrane covering the vent [breathing passageway 30 and membrane 37] (Para [0024-0026], see Figs. 3-5). It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art at the time of the filing of the invention to modify Cosson with Wilkie such to further comprise a vent penetrating a wall of the housing; and a vent membrane covering the vent, in order to allow equalization of pressure, temperature, and humidity between the interior and exterior of the housing.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DAVID Z HUANG whose telephone number is (571)270-5360. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM EST.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Kristina Deherrera can be reached at 303-297-4237. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/DAVID Z HUANG/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2855