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 .
Response to Amendment/Argument
Argument and amendment filed on 12/20/2025 are considered. Claims 1, 4, 5, 9,11, 15, 16, 18 are amended.
Rejection under 35 U.S.C 112: Applicant argument is persuasive; therefore, the rejection is withdrawn.
Rejection under 35 U.S.C 101: Applicant argument is persuasive; therefore, the rejection is withdrawn.
Rejection under 35 U.S.C 103:
Applicant argument for the amended independent claims and the applied prior arts were reviewed. Applicant argues the combination of the references/prior arts “do not teach applicant’s environmental monitoring method for real time monitoring of environmental parameters in an interior of a structure, such as an aircraft on ground, do not teach transferring, from the one or more sensors to microprocessor system, signals of environmental parameters of the interior structure on the ground, do not teach applicant’s processed environmental data and do not teach one or more light emitting diode (LED) color signal lights comprising one or more of a green color to indicate the one or more in specification environmental parameter and a red, a blue, a yellow and a purple color each indicating one of the one or more out-of-specification environmental parameters.” After review, the applicant argument is determined to be persuasive regarding non-obvious combination of references.
However, an unclear claim issue is noted regarding the applicant argument and the amended claims which is addressed below.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claim 1-20 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
The independent claims 1 and 15 does not recite the “An environmental monitoring method or system for real time monitoring of one or more environmental parameters in an interior of a structure such as an aircraft on ground.”
Similarly Claim 9, recites “An environmental monitoring method or system for real time monitoring of one or more environmental parameters in an interior of an aircraft on ground.”
However, applicant argument is for environmental monitoring method and system for real time monitoring for one or more environmental parameter is for an interior of a structure of, such as an aircraft, that is on ground for short term storage or long term storage or grounded for a set period of time or out of service (see in page 28 of 38, page 29 of 38). Therefore, from the recited claim languages in independent claims are unclear when compared to the applicant’s argument whether the system and method are actually for monitoring the interior structure of an aircraft on ground or monitoring the interior of a structure on ground (claims 1 and 15) or in an interior of an aircraft on ground (claim 9). Therefore, the applicant argument is not persuasive in view of the independent claims 1, 9 and 15 as presented for examination.
Applicant is further suggested to amend all the independent claims to reflect the scope of the invention (i.e., limited to aircraft).
Dependent claims 2-8, 10-14 and 16-20 inherit the deficiency of the independent claims, therefore are also rejected under 35 U.S.C 112 (b).
Allowable Subject Matter
There are no prior art rejections for claims 1-20. However, examiner cannot comment on their allowability until the rejections under 35 USC 112 (b) is adequately addressed.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SHARAD TIMILSINA whose telephone number is (571)272-7104. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9:00-5:00.
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/SHARAD TIMILSINA/Examiner, Art Unit 2857
/Catherine T. Rastovski/Supervisory Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2857