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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 12/22/2025 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Response to Amendment
Examiner acknowledges receipt of Applicant's amendment filed 11/10/2025.
In the amendment, Applicant amended claims 12 and 20.
Claims 1-20 are currently pending.
Response to Arguments
Examiner has fully considered Applicant's arguments, filed on 11/10/2025.
Examiner has fully considered Applicant's arguments, see pages 7-9, with respect to the rejections of the claim 1 under 35 USC § 102 (a) (1), but they are not persuasive.
The Applicant argues:
Kumar does not disclose every element of claim 1. For example, Kumar does not disclose a local fleet connectivity system including "a plurality of machines, each comprising an implement and a prime mover configured to drive the implement, each machine coupled to a connectivity module configured to wirelessly communicate with connectivity modules of the other machines to form a local network."
The Examiner’s Response to the above argument:
The vehicle network 318 is any wired or wireless network, bus or other communications capability that allows electronic components of the materials handling vehicle 308 to communicate with each other..." [0088], see also, "... a vehicle network 518 (analogous to vehicle network 318, FIG. 3) facilitates communication between a plurality of control modules 520 (analogous to control modules 320, FIG. 3)..." [0122]), Here the “materials handling vehicle 308 to communicate with each other” clearly says that vehicles are communicating with each other via a network or other communication capability. See Claim 1 for more detail.
Examiner has fully considered Applicant's arguments, see pages 9-10, with respect to the rejections of the claim 4 under 35 USC § 102 (a) (1) have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Examiner has fully considered Applicant's arguments, see pages 10-12, with respect to the rejections of the amended claim 12 under 35 USC § 102 (a) (1) have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Examiner has fully considered Applicant's arguments, see pages 12-14, with respect to the rejections of the amended claim 20 under 35 USC § 102 (a) (1) have been considered but are partially persuasive. However, the claims have been amended and the following new grounds of rejection (using the previous reference) were necessitated by these amendments.
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.
Claims 1-3, 5-11, and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(1) as being anticipated by Kumar et al. (US-20210375080-A1), hereinafter, Kumar.
Regarding Claim 1, Kumar discloses, a local fleet connectivity system (Fig. 1, "The system 100 also includes a processing device implemented as a server 112..." [¶0056]), comprising:
a plurality of machines ("materials handling vehicles 108..." [¶0056]), each comprising an implement and a prime mover configured to drive the implement (Fig. 1, see also, "...a process for implementing a materials handling vehicle technology monitor is provided. The method comprises receiving wirelessly, from a fleet of materials handling vehicles, electronic vehicle records..." [¶0005]), each machine coupled to a connectivity module (Fig. 1, see also, "...a processing device 102 on a materials handling vehicle 108 wirelessly communicates through one or more technologies, e.g., via Wi-Fi access points 110 to a corresponding networking component 106..." [¶0055]) configured to wirelessly communicate with connectivity modules of the other machines to form a local network (Fig. 3, and Fig. 5,, see also, "Referring to FIG. 3, a block diagram illustrates an electronic control arrangement for a materials handling vehicle 308, e.g., any of the materials handling vehicles 108 of FIG. 1, and/or materials handling vehicle 208 (FIG. 2)." [¶0082], see also, "The information linking device 302 is coupled to and/or communicates with other industrial vehicle system components via a suitable vehicle network 318. The vehicle network 318 is any wired or wireless network, bus or other communications capability that allows electronic components of the materials handling vehicle 308 to communicate with each other..." [¶0088], see also, "... a vehicle network 518 (analogous to vehicle network 318, FIG. 3) facilitates communication between a plurality of control modules 520 (analogous to control modules 320, FIG. 3)..." [¶0122]), Here the “materials handling vehicle 308 to communicate with each other” clearly says that vehicles are communicating with each other via a network or other communication capability.
wherein a first machine of the plurality of machines includes a first connectivity module comprising a first local wireless transceiver, and at least one of the connectivity modules is configured to communicate with a computing module via an external network (Fig. 1, see also, "...a processing device 102 is provided on one or more materials handling vehicles 108. In the example configuration illustrated, a processing device 102 on a materials handling vehicle 108 wirelessly communicates through one or more technologies, e.g., via Wi-Fi access points 110 to a corresponding networking component 106, which serves as a connection to the network(s) 104. ..." [¶0055], see also, Fig. 3, 'The illustrated information linking device 302 includes a transceiver 304 for wireless communication. Although a single transceiver 304 is illustrated for convenience, in practice, one or more wireless communication technologies may be provided..."[¶0084]); and
a first device ("...a vehicle network 518 (analogous to vehicle network 318, FIG. 3) facilitates communication between a plurality of control modules 520 (analogous to control modules 320, FIG. 3)." [¶0122]) coupled to a local wireless module, the local wireless module configured to wirelessly communicate with the first local wireless transceiver to connect to the local network, wherein the local wireless module is not configured to directly connect to the external network (Fig, 5, see also, "...optional control module 520A can comprise a sensor control module (SCM) 520A or other suitable control module or other network-enabled device. Optional control module 520B can comprise a traction control module (TCM) 520B, which controls travel of the materials handling vehicle 508. The system can also optionally include other network-enabled devices, e.g., schematically illustrated as control module 520C, e.g., a steering module, braking module, etc. Moreover, one or more additional electronic components may also contribute, examples of which are described with reference to FIG. 3." [¶0122]).
Regarding Claim 2, Kumar discloses, the system of claim 1.
Kumar also discloses, wherein the local wireless module communicates via BLE or RFID (Fig. 3, see also, "...the information linking device 302 includes a monitoring input output (I/O) module 312 to communicate via wired or wireless connection to peripheral devices attached to or otherwise mounted on the materials handling vehicle 308, such as sensors, meters, encoders, switches, lights, etc. (collectively represented by reference numeral 314). The module 312 may also be connected to other devices, e.g., third party devices 316 such as RFID scanners, displays, meters, etc...." [¶0087]).
Regarding Claim 3, Kumar discloses, the system of claim 1.
Kumar also teaches, wherein the computing module is configured to determine a distance from the first machine to the first device based on a signal strength indication at the first local wireless transceiver indicating the strength of a signal received from the local wireless module ("...The availability of multiple antennae allows not only signal detection, but also positioning within the detection region. Regardless, the remote-control receiver 324 can compute position (or distance) via time of flight calculations, phase calculations, received signal strength calculations, time difference of arrival, trilateration, multilateration, combinations thereof, and/or other techniques." [¶0094]).
Regarding Claim 5, Kumar discloses, the system of claim 1.
Kumar further teaches, wherein the computing module is configured to:
receive, from the first connectivity module, an indication that the first local wireless transceiver detects a signal from the local wireless module ("…the remote-control receiver 324 includes at least two or three antennae 326. The availability of multiple antennae allows not only signal detection, but also positioning within the detection region. Regardless, the remote-control receiver 324 can compute position (or distance) via time of flight calculations, phase calculations, received signal strength calculations, time difference of arrival, trilateration, multilateration, combinations thereof, and/or other techniques." [¶0094], see also, "The remote-control receiver 324 includes a transceiver for short range communication..." [¶0093], see also, "Data sources 116 can also include a management system data source 120, e.g., a warehouse management system (WMS). The WMS relates information to the movement and tracking of goods within the work environment in a WMS domain..." [¶0059]; Here WMS helps to automatically register a new member to its database system. and
update, in response to receiving the indication, a database to associate the first device with the local fleet connectivity system ("... the data sources 116, which need not be co-located, include databases that tie processes executing for the benefit of an enterprise, from multiple, different domains. In the illustrated example, data sources 116 include a materials handling vehicle information data source 118 that collects data from the operation of materials handling vehicles 108, e.g., in a materials handling vehicle domain. By way of example, the materials handling vehicle information database can store electronic vehicle records, e.g., received wirelessly, from a fleet of materials handling vehicles..." [¶0058]). Here “database can store electronic vehicle records” implicitly means that data gets updated in the database.
Regarding Claim 6, Kumar teaches the system of claim 5.
Kumar also discloses, wherein the computing module is further configured to:
determine that the first local wireless transceiver has begun detecting the signal after previously not detecting the signal ("…the remote-control receiver 324 includes at least two or three antennae 326. The availability of multiple antennae allows not only signal detection, but also positioning within the detection region. Regardless, the remote-control receiver 324 can compute position (or distance) via time of flight calculations, phase calculations, received signal strength calculations, time difference of arrival…" [¶0094]; Here “not detecting the signal earlier’ is just a standard procedure. and
send, in response to the determination, a notification to a user device that the local wireless module has recently been detected ("As illustrated, the remote-control receiver 324 can pass information related to interaction with a corresponding remote-control device 362 to the control module 306 of the information linking device 302. The control module 306 of the information linking device 302 (or the remote control receiver 324) can then process the received information, send commands to vehicle controllers and modules 320..." [¶0095]).
Regarding Claim 7, Kumar teaches the system of claim 5.
Kumar further discloses, wherein the computing module is further configured to:
receive, from the first connectivity module, a second indication that the first local wireless transceiver no longer detects a signal from the first local wireless module ("In some embodiments, the system and corresponding process can perform active processes such as analyzing the generated measurements to detect whether there is an equipment issue that is adversely affecting the comparison for at least one operator, and automatically generating an electronic signal that triggers a workflow at 860 to address the detected equipment issue." [0217]);
update, in response to receiving the second indication, the database to disassociate the first device with the local fleet connectivity system ("Automatically generating an electronic signal that triggers a workflow at 860 to address the detected equipment issue can also and/or alternatively be carried out by wirelessly communicating a signal to a materials handling vehicle associated with the detected equipment issue to disable the technology feature. For instance, flow back to the module server 850 can trigger the module server 850 to communicate back across the network 804 to the associated industrial health monitor 842, which can push any updates to the technology feature 840, including a command to disable the technology feature 840, to request diagnostic data, error codes, etc." [¶0219]); and
send, in response to receiving the second indication, a notification to a user device that the local wireless module has recently been removed from the local fleet connectivity system ("Still further, automatically generating an electronic signal that triggers a workflow at 860 to address the detected equipment issue can also and/or alternatively comprise wirelessly communicating a signal to a processor in the working environment to disable an equipment that interacts with the technology feature on the materials handling vehicles. For instance, certain features, such as RFID tag or ultra-wideband badges can be programmed, reprogrammed, disabled, enabled, etc." [¶0222]).
Regarding Claim 8, Kumar discloses, the system of claim 1.
Kumar also teaches, wherein the local wireless module is communicably coupled to a controller of the first device, the local wireless module configured to receive device information from the controller and to transmit the device information to the first local wireless transceiver ("...The controller may also receive information from other inputs, e.g., from sensors 314 such as the presence sensors 242 (FIG. 2), the obstacle sensors 258 (FIG. 2), switches, load sensors, encoders and other devices/features available to the materials handling vehicle 108 to determine appropriate action in response to the received commands from the remote-control device 362..." [¶0097], see also, "...The control module 306 of the information linking device 302 (or the remote control receiver 324) can then process the received information, send commands to vehicle controllers and modules 320, take action based upon a known location of the materials handling vehicle 108..." [¶0095]).
Regarding Claim 9, Kumar discloses the system of claim 8,
Kumar also discloses, wherein the device information comprises one or more of a battery charge level, a fuel level, an activation status, or device malfunction information ("...the industrial health monitor 842 collects technology information from the various control modules, such as by collecting automation active state information from the SCM 820A, speed information from the TCM 820B, guidance acquired state information from the GCM 820C, etc., by communicating across the vehicle network 818 (e.g., a CAN bus)..." [¶0198]).
Regarding Claim 10, Kumar discloses, the system of claim 1.
Kumar further teaches, wherein the local wireless module is communicably coupled to a controller of the first device, the controller configured to receive control instructions from the computing module via the first local wireless transceiver and the local wireless module (" Moreover, in still further embodiments, the controller is further programmed to receive from the remote server, an instruction to modify a performance parameter of the materials handling vehicle responsive vehicle records associated with the operator over a predetermined period of time, and communicate a command to at least one electronic control module by communicating a message across the vehicle network to modify the performance of the materials handling vehicle." [¶0285], see also, "In some embodiments, the communication from the module server 1250 back to the materials handling vehicle 1208 via the industrial health monitor 1242 can comprise instructions, training, or other operator-driving prompting to improve the operator interaction with the technology feature 1240." [¶0251]).
Regarding Claim 11, Kumar discloses, the system of claim 1.
Kumar also teaches, further comprising a connectivity hub, wherein the connectivity modules are configured to communicate with the external network via wireless communication with the connectivity hub ("...in an example embodiment, the industrial health monitor 842 collects technology information from the various control modules, such as by collecting automation active state information from the SCM 820A, speed information from the TCM 820B, guidance acquired state information from the GCM 820C, etc., by communicating across the vehicle network 818 (e.g., a CAN bus). In this regard, the industrial health monitor 842 can function as a common boundary intermediary for one or more technology features 840 and/or other electronic on the materials handling vehicle, allowing scalability and the ability to easily add technology features." [¶0198], see also, "The industrial health monitor 842 further wirelessly communicates with a remote module server 850, analogous to that described with reference to FIG. 5..." [¶0199]). Here “remote module server 850” acts like a connectivity hub (remote server).
Regarding Claim 20, Kumar discloses, a method of enabling communication between a device ("...the remote-control receiver 324 can pass information related to interaction with a corresponding remote-control device 362 to the control module 306 of the information linking device 302...” [¶0095]) and a cloud computing system ("The module server 850 can be implemented as a module server functioning on a remote server as part of an analysis engine 814..."[¶0202]) via a work machine ("... a vehicle network (e.g., CAN bus) as part of the vehicle network 818..." [¶0200], see also, "...a vehicle network 518 (analogous to vehicle network 318, FIG. 3) facilitates communication between a plurality of control modules 520 (analogous to control modules 320, FIG. 3)..." [¶0122]), the method comprising:
connecting, by a work machine via a short-range wireless communication protocol, to a device ("...the materials handling vehicle 208 communicates with the remote server 112 (FIG. 1) over a first wireless connection (e.g., via the information linking device 202 using Wi-Fi)..." [¶0080], see also, "...an industrial health monitor 1142 is communicably coupled to the vehicle network 1118...Moreover, the industrial health monitor 1142 communicates with a module server 1150 across a communication path, such as a Wi-Fi, as illustrated by network 1104." [¶0234]); Here the Wi-Fi is the short-range wireless communication protocol.
connecting, by the work machine via a second wireless communication protocol, to a cloud computing system ("…For instance, in an example embodiment, the technology feature 540 collects and/or reads sensor active state information from the SCM 320A, speed information from the TCM 320B, remote control usage from a module such as the remote control receiver (324, FIG. 3), etc., by communicating across the vehicle network 518 (e.g., a CAN bus)." [¶0123], see also, “The technology feature 540 further wirelessly communicates (directly or via a transceiver, information linking device, etc.) with the remote server 514 via a remote module server 550, e.g., via Wi-Fi, cellular, etc..." [¶0124]); Here the second wireless communication could be cellular network.
receiving, by the work machine, information from the device via the short-range wireless communication protocol ("The module server 1250 further feeds an ETL Pipeline, which comprises a set of processes that extract data from the input received from the industrial health monitor 1242. For instance, ETL processes can include a last pick accepted process 1252, which outputs an indication of the last pick accepted by each materials handling vehicle...For instance, in the context of an auto-positioning system, the environment status process 1256 can collect and output data regarding RFID tags, ultra-wideband badges, etc., which cooperate with the auto-positioning controls on the corresponding materials handling vehicles." [¶0248], see also, "...By way of example, the materials handling vehicle information database can store electronic vehicle records, e.g., received wirelessly, from a fleet of materials handling vehicles. In this regard, each electronic vehicle record can comprise travel-related data, operational data, maintenance data, observational data, configuration data, component state data, measured sensor data, impact data, or other information recorded by a processing device 102 on an associated materials handling vehicle 108..." [¶0058]); Here RFID tags, ultra-wideband badges are the short-range wireless communication protocol. and
transmitting, by the work machine based on receiving the information, the information to the cloud computing system via the second wireless communication protocol ("...The controller further runs program code to generate a vehicle record comprised of materials handling vehicle travel-related data associated with the remote-controlled travel function and transmit the generated vehicle record, by the information linking device, to the remote server to log use of the remote-controlled travel function." [¶0009], see also, "Here, the materials handling vehicle may interact with the module server 550 to communicate information back to a materials handling vehicle, by interacting with the workflow 560, e.g., to communicate directly with a remote server, remote controller..."[¶0133], see also " The technology feature 540 further wirelessly communicates (directly or via a transceiver, information linking device, etc.) with the remote server 514 via a remote module server 550, e.g., via Wi-Fi, cellular, etc..." [¶0124]).
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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 4, and 12-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kumar in view of Urabe et al. (US 20190394209 A1), hereinafter, Urabe).
Regarding Claim 4, Kumar discloses, the system of claim 1.
Kumar doesn’t explicitly disclose, wherein at least one other machine comprises a local wireless transceiver, wherein the computing module is configured to estimate a location of the first device based on a signal strength indication at each of the local wireless transceivers indicating the strength of a signal received from the local wireless module.
Urabe in analogous art discloses, wherein at least one other machine comprises a local wireless transceiver, wherein the computing module is configured to estimate a location of the first device based on a signal strength indication at each of the local wireless transceivers indicating the strength of a signal received from the local wireless module ("FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a method of calculating the arrival direction of the beacon signal #2. As shown in FIG. 4, it is assumed that an interval between the antenna 121 and the antenna 122 is d[m]… [¶0050], see also, "The reception intensity acquisition unit 140 acquires the reception intensity of the high-frequency beacon #2. Specifically, the reception intensity acquisition unit 140 measures the RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indicator) value of the high-frequency beacon #2. The reception intensity acquisition unit 140 outputs the acquired reception intensity to the distance estimation unit 142. The distance estimation unit 142 estimates the distance L[m] of the terminal 10 transmitting the beacon signal #2 to the terminal authentication device 100. Specifically, the distance estimation unit 142 calculates the distance L using the Friis Transmission Formula represented by the following equation (2)." [¶0052], see also, "...Namely, the embodiments are configured in such a manner that the position of a terminal transmitting the beacon signal with respect to a provisioner is estimated and the terminal located at a specific position is automatically permitted to participate in a mesh network...." [¶0027]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to combine the teaching of Kumar with the idea of using wireless positioning system that uses Received Signal Strength Indication (RSSI) to determine the position of a device as disclosed by Urabe. The rationale for doing so would have been to determine the proximity of a user to a specific location.
Regarding Claim 12, Kumar discloses, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium (Fig 14. "...peripherals include storage 1460 (e.g., hard drives), removable media storage 1470 (e.g., tape drives, CD-ROM drives, FLASH drives, etc..."[¶0288]) having instructions stored thereon that ("...1342 can comprise instructions, training, or other operator-driving prompting to improve the operator interaction with the technology feature 1340." [¶0265]), upon execution by a processor, cause the processor ("...the industrial health monitor 842 can include an onboard processor and memory and can communicate across the vehicle network 818..." [¶0201]) to:
receive a first indication from a first connectivity module of a first machine of a local fleet connectivity system, the first indication indicating that the first connectivity module detects a signal from a local wireless module of a device module ("…the remote-control receiver 324 includes at least two or three antennae 326. The availability of multiple antennae allows not only signal detection, but also positioning within the detection region. Regardless, the remote-control receiver 324 can compute position (or distance) via time of flight calculations, phase calculations, received signal strength calculations, time difference of arrival, trilateration, multilateration, combinations thereof, and/or other techniques." [¶0094], see also, "...Regardless of where the controller is located, the controller implements the appropriate response to the received commands to carry out the technology feature. The information linking device 302 can also send a corresponding vehicle record to the server 112 (FIG. 1), as described more fully herein." [¶0096], see also, "In certain illustrative implementations, the badge communicator 328 includes at least three antennae 326. The availability of multiple antennae 326 allows not only signal detection, but also positioning within the detection region. Here, the badge communicator 328 computes position via time of flight calculations, phase calculations, received signal strength calculations, time difference of arrival, trilateration, multilateration, combinations thereof, and/or other techniques." [¶0107], see also, "For instance, in a typical warehouse implementation, a forklift truck is equipped with a communications device that links a corresponding forklift truck operator to a management system executing on an associated computer enterprise via a wireless transceiver..." [¶0004], see also, "Data sources 116 can also include a management system data source 120, e.g., a warehouse management system (WMS). The WMS relates information to the movement and tracking of goods within the work environment in a WMS domain..." [¶0059]; Here WMS helps to automatically register a new member to its database system. and
Kumar doesn’t explicitly disclose, update, in response to receiving the first indication, a
database to associate the device with the local fleet connectivity system.
Urabe, in analogues art discloses, update, in response to receiving the first indication, a database to associate the device with the local fleet connectivity system ("In such a case, when receiving the beacon signals #1 and #2 from the terminals 10A, 10B, 10C, and 10D, the terminal authentication device 100 allows the terminals 10A, 10B, 10C, and 10D to be automatically connected to the mesh network by the above-described method. On the other hand, even when receiving the beacon signals #1 and #2 from the terminals 10X, 10Y, and 10Z, the terminal authentication device 100 does not allow the terminals 10X, 10Y, and 10Z to be connected to the mesh network." [¶0066], see also, "The authentication determination unit 150 determines whether or not the terminal 10 transmitting the beacon signal #2 is within the authentication possible region on the basis of the estimated direction θ and distance L. This is equal to the determination whether or not the terminal 10 transmitting the beacon signal #1 urging start of the provisioning procedure is within the authentication possible region. In addition, the authentication determination unit 150 controls the terminal 10 located within the authentication possible region to be connected to the mesh network..." [¶0056], see also, "FIG. 2 is a diagram for showing a configuration of the terminal 10 according to the first embodiment. The terminal 10 has a connection control unit 12, a link control unit 14, a transmission/reception unit 16, and an antenna 18. The terminal 10 may be configured using a processor such as a CPU, a storage device such as a memory, a wireless communication device, and various peripheral circuits as similar to the terminal authentication device 100. Namely, the terminal 10 may have a function as a computer." [¶0043]). Here, it is obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to use some sort of database/routing tables to keep the information in the storage device about the participated nodes to the mesh network.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to combine the teaching of Kumar with the idea of updating a database to associate a device with a local fleet connectivity system as disclosed by Urabe. The rationale for doing so is to ensure that the device and it’s signals are accurately associated with the local fleet connectivity system, facilitating better management and operational efficiency.
Regarding Claim 13, Kumar and Urabe disclose the medium of claim 12.
Kumar also discloses, wherein the first indication comprises a first signal strength indication indicating the strength of the signal detected by the first connectivity module, and wherein the instructions, upon execution by a processor, further cause the processor to determine a distance from the first machine to the device based on the first signal strength indication ("In certain illustrative implementations, the remote-control receiver 324 includes at least two or three antennae 326. The availability of multiple antennae allows not only signal detection, but also positioning within the detection region. Regardless, the remote-control receiver 324 can compute position (or distance) via time of flight calculations, phase calculations, received signal strength calculations, time difference of arrival, trilateration, multilateration, combinations thereof, and/or other techniques." [¶0094]).
Regarding Claim 14, Kumar and Urabe disclose the medium of claim 13.
Kumar also teaches, wherein the instructions, upon execution by the processor, further cause the processor to:
receive a second indication from a second connectivity module of a second machine of the local fleet connectivity system, the second indication indicating that the second connectivity module detects the signal from the local wireless module, wherein the second indication comprises a second signal strength indication indicating the strength of the signal detected by the second connectivity module; and estimate, based on the first signal strength indication and the second signal strength indication, a location of the device ("In certain illustrative implementations, the badge communicator 328 includes at least three antennae 326. The availability of multiple antennae 326 allows not only signal detection, but also positioning within the detection region. Here, the badge communicator 328 computes position via time of flight calculations, phase calculations, received signal strength calculations, time difference of arrival, trilateration, multilateration, combinations thereof, and/or other techniques." [¶0107]).
Regarding Claim 15, Kumar and Urabe disclose the medium of claim 14.
Kumar further discloses, wherein estimating the location of the device is further based on a GPS location of the first machine and a GPS location of the second machine ("As illustrated, the remote-control receiver 324 can pass information related to interaction with a corresponding remote-control device 362 to the control module 306 of the information linking device 302. The control module 306 of the information linking device 302 (or the remote control receiver 324) can then process the received information, send commands to vehicle controllers and modules 320, take action based upon a known location of the materials handling vehicle 108 via information collected from the environmental-based location tracking device 322 and/or other sensors on the materials handling vehicle 108..." [¶0095]). Here, “Location Tracking Devices” are devices that utilize GPS technology to determine their position and then transmit that information.
Regarding Claim 16, Kumar and Urabe disclose the medium of claim 12.
Kumar further teaches, wherein the instructions, upon execution by the processor, further cause the processor to:
transmit control instructions for the device to the first connectivity module, receipt of the control instructions causing the first connectivity module to transmit the control instructions to the local wireless module (" Moreover, in still further embodiments, the controller is further programmed to receive from the remote server, an instruction to modify a performance parameter of the materials handling vehicle responsive vehicle records associated with the operator over a predetermined period of time, and communicate a command to at least one electronic control module by communicating a message across the vehicle network to modify the performance of the materials handling vehicle." [¶0285], see also, "In some embodiments, the communication from the module server 1250 back to the materials handling vehicle 1208 via the industrial health monitor 1242 can comprise instructions, training, or other operator-driving prompting to improve the operator interaction with the technology feature 1240." [¶0251]). Claim 16 is very similar to Claim 10 except for Claim 16 base station transmitting while in Claim 10 is receiving. Claim 10 has been rejected above. Applicant’s attention is directed to the rejection of claim 10. Claim 16 is rejected under the same rational as claim 10.
Regarding Claim 17, Kumar and Urabe disclose the medium of claim 12.
Kumar further teaches, wherein the instructions, upon execution by the processor, further cause the processor to:
receive, from the local wireless module via the first connectivity module, device information relating to the device ("...receive information back from the remote server 514, carry out the technology feature, etc. For instance, in an example embodiment, the technology feature 540 collects and/or reads sensor active state information from the SCM 320A..." [¶0123], see also, "...the industrial health monitor 842 collects technology information from the various control modules, such as by collecting automation active state information from the SCM 820A, speed information from the TCM 820B, guidance acquired state information from the GCM 820C, etc., by communicating across the vehicle network 818 (e.g., a CAN bus)..." [¶0198]).
Regarding Claim 18, Kumar and Urabe disclose the medium of claim 12.
Kumar further teaches, wherein the instructions, upon execution by the processor, further cause the processor to:
determine that the first connectivity module has begun detecting the signal after previously not detecting the signal ("…the remote-control receiver 324 includes at least two or three antennae 326. The availability of multiple antennae allows not only signal detection, but also positioning within the detection region. Regardless, the remote-control receiver 324 can compute position (or distance) via time of flight calculations, phase calculations, received signal strength calculations, time difference of arrival…" [¶0094]; Here “not detecting the signal earlier’ is just a standard procedure. and
transmit, in response to the determination, a notification to a user device that the device has joined the local fleet connectivity system ("As illustrated, the remote-control receiver 324 can pass information related to interaction with a corresponding remote-control device 362 to the control module 306 of the information linking device 302. The control module 306 of the information linking device 302 (or the remote control receiver 324) can then process the received information, send commands to vehicle controllers and modules 320, take action based upon a known location of the materials handling vehicle 108 via information collected from the environmental-based location tracking device 322 and/or other sensors on the materials handling vehicle 108, communicate the collected information to a remote server (e.g., server 112 of FIG. 1), take action based upon information received from the remote server, combinations of thereof, etc." [¶0095]).
Regarding Claim 19, Kumar and Urabe disclose the medium of claim 12.
Kumar further discloses, wherein the instructions, upon execution by the processor, further cause the processor to:
receive, from the first connectivity module, a second indication that the first connectivity module no longer detects a signal from first local wireless module ("In some embodiments, the system and corresponding process can perform active processes such as analyzing the generated measurements to detect whether there is an equipment issue that is adversely affecting the comparison for at least one operator, and automatically generating an electronic signal that triggers a workflow at 860 to address the detected equipment issue." [¶0217]);
update, in response to receiving the second indication, the database to disassociate the device with the local fleet connectivity system ("Automatically generating an electronic signal that triggers a workflow at 860 to address the detected equipment issue can also and/or alternatively be carried out by wirelessly communicating a signal to a materials handling vehicle associated with the detected equipment issue to disable the technology feature. For instance, flow back to the module server 850 can trigger the module server 850 to communicate back across the network 804 to the associated industrial health monitor 842, which can push any updates to the technology feature 840, including a command to disable the technology feature 840, to request diagnostic data, error codes, etc." [¶0219]); and
transmit, in response to receiving the second indication, a notification to a user device that the device has recently been removed from the local fleet connectivity system ("Still further, automatically generating an electronic signal that triggers a workflow at 860 to address the detected equipment issue can also and/or alternatively comprise wirelessly communicating a signal to a processor in the working environment to disable an equipment that interacts with the technology feature on the materials handling vehicles. For instance, certain features, such as RFID tag or ultra-wideband badges can be programmed, reprogrammed, disabled, enabled, etc." [¶0222]).
Conclusion
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/MUHAMMAD AINUL HUDA/Examiner, Art Unit 2467
/HASSAN A PHILLIPS/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2467