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 .
Claims 1-18 have been examined.
Claim Objections
Claim 16 is objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 16 line 1 “a stop of:” should read --a step of:--
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.
Claim(s) 1, 6-9, and 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Al-Gharaibeh et al. (US 2017/0302478).
- In reference to claim 1
Al-Gharaibeh et al. teaches a communication method, comprising the steps of:
sending a communication from a sender (e.g. sender WiHub 512 of responder 522 sending communication to receiver WiHub 503 of command center 502; Fig. 5, par. 0070-0073, 0065-0066);
routing the communication to a receiver through a routing method selector (e.g. routing the communication to receiver WiHub 503 via routing method selector WiHub 510 of responder 510; Fig. 5, par. 0070-0075), said routing method selector routing the communication through a member of a set of communication methods based upon cost (e.g. routing through a member such as LTE of communication methods such as WiFi, LTE, land mobile radio, satellite, bluetooth, NFC, based upon cost; par. 0066, 0052);
and receiving the communication (e.g. receiver WiHub 503 of command center 502 receives communication from sender WiHub 512 of responder 522 via WiHub 510 of responder 520; Fig. 5, par. 0070-0073, 0065-0066, 0010).
- In reference to claim 6
Al-Gharaibeh et al. further teaches first routing of the communication through at least a first message passer after said step of sending and prior to said step of receiving (e.g. receiver WiHub 503 of command center 502 receives communication from sender WiHub 512 of responder 522 via WiHub 510 of responder 510; Fig. 5, par. 0070-0073, 0065-0066, 0010).
- In reference to claim 7
Al-Gharaibeh et al. further teaches further comprising the step of: second routing of the communication through at least a second message passer. (e.g. receiver WiHub 503 of command center 502 receives communication from sender WiHub 512 of responder 522 via WiHub 510 of responder 520 and WiHub 504 of vehicle 530; Fig. 5, par. 0070-0073, 0065-0066, 0010).
- In reference to claim 8
Al-Gharaibeh et al. further teaches comprising the step of: routing the communication via passing vehicles. (e.g. receiver WiHub 503 of command center 502 receives communication from sender WiHub 512 of responder 522 via WiHub 504 of vehicle 530 and WiHub 506 of helicopter 505; Fig. 5, par. 0070-0073, 0065-0066, 0010).
- In reference to claim 9
Al-Gharaibeh et al. further teaches comprising linking the communication from a first firefighter communication device with a second firefighter communication device (e.g. link WiHub 512 of responder 522 with WiHub 510 of responder 520; Fig. 5, par. 0070-0073, 0065-0066, 0010).
- In reference to claim 16
Al-Gharaibeh et al. further teaches selecting from the set of communication methods a land mobile radio method. (e.g. selecting a member such as land mobile radio from the communication methods such as WiFi, LTE, land mobile radio, satellite, bluetooth, NFC, for routing between WiHub 508 and WiHub 510; par. 0070, 0066, 0052);
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.
Claim(s) 2-4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over in view of Al-Gharaibeh et al. (US 2017/0302478) in view of Doten (US 2017/0100615).
- In reference to claim 2-4
Al-Gharaibeh et al. teaches a method that covers substantially all limitations of the parent claim. Al-Gharaibeh et al. further teaches repeating the step of sending from multiple firefighter devices resulting in multiple communications (e.g. multiple WiHubs such as 510, 508, 514 of responders 520, 524, 526 sending communications to receiver WiHub 503 of command center 502 resulting in multiple communicatoins; Fig. 5, par. 0070-0073, 0065-0066).
Al-Gharaibeh et al. does not teach updating a location of a wildfire with communication or multiple communications, and sensing with a touchscreen a move of a wildfire edge from an old location to a new location.
Doten teaches updating a location of a wildfire with multiple communications (e.g. location of fire is continuously updated via information communicated via communications to the display; par. 0075-0076, 0084), and sensing with a touchscreen (e.g. touchscreen display; par. 0024, 0052) a move of a wildfire edge from an old location to a new location (e.g. user senses via touchscreen display that is continuously updated location of fire edge as if moves from old to new locations; par. 0075-0076, 0084).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method of Al-Gharaibeh et al. to include updating a location of a wildfire with the communication and the multiple communications, and sensing with a touchscreen a move of a wildfire edge from an old location to a new location as suggested by Doten because it would allow a user at a command center to be notified of the updated wildfire location so the user could have an improved situational awareness of the area and coordinate firefighting resources.
Claim(s) 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over in view of Al-Gharaibeh et al. (US 2017/0302478) in view of Doten (US 2017/0100615) in view of Ryder (US 2019/0318599).
- In reference to claim 5
The combination of Al-Gharaibeh et al. and Doten teaches a method that covers substantially all limitations of the parent claim. Al-Gharaibeh et al. further teaches transmitting the communication from a portable and field deployable firefighting position indicator (e.g. WiHub 512 of responder 522; Fig. 5, par. 0070-0073, 0065-0066), comprising: a global positioning system receiver (e.g. GPS receiver; par. 0015, 0058, 0075, 0077) said global positioning system receiver configured to provide a location of said firefighting position indicator (par. 0058, 0075, 0077); a transmitter (e.g. transmitter 114-1; par. 0052) communicatively coupled to said global positioning system receiver.
The combination of Al-Gharaibeh et al. and Doten does not teach the transmitter configured to send the communication when the firefighting position indicator senses a temperature increase of greater than one hundred degrees Fahrenheit, indicating passage of a fire.
Ryder teaches a transmitter configured to send a communication when a sensor senses a temperature increase greater than a threshold which may include greater than a threshold of one hundred degrees Fahrenheit (par. 0064).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the combination of Al-Gharaibeh et al. and Ryder to include the transmitter configured to send the communication when the firefighting position indicator senses a temperature increase of greater than one hundred degrees Fahrenheit, indicating passage of a fire as suggested by Ryder because it would allow a user at a command center to be alerted of the increase temperatures indicating a fire so that the user may notify responders so that may take appropriate action such as equipping additional heat protection equipment.
Claim(s) 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over in view of Al-Gharaibeh et al. (US 2017/0302478) in view of Brown et al. (US 2021/0327255).
- In reference to claim 10
Al-Gharaibeh et al. teaches selecting a first method, from the set of communication methods, for said first routing; and selecting an option other than the first method, from the set of communications, for the second routing. (e.g. first routing utilizing WiFi and second routing utilizing LTE; Fig. 5, par. 0070-0073, 0065-0066, 0010).
Al-Gharaibeh et al. does not teach the first method being UHF.
Brown et al. teaches a method being UHF. (par. 0016)
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the first method of Al-Gharaibeh et al. to be UHF as suggested by Brown et al. because it would increase the penetration of obstacles such as dense foliage to communicate with another responder while relaying communication signals to a receiver.
Claim(s) 11-13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over in view of Al-Gharaibeh et al. (US 2017/0302478) in view of Brown et al. (US 2021/0327255), as applied to the parent claim, and further in view of Doten (US 2017/0100615).
- In reference to claim 11-13
The combination of Al-Gharaibeh et al. and Brown et al. teaches a method that covers substantially all limitations of the parent claim. Al-Gharaibeh et al. further teaches repeating the step of sending from multiple firefighter devices resulting in multiple communications (e.g. multiple WiHubs such as 510, 508, 514 of responders 520, 524, 526 sending communications to receiver WiHub 503 of command center 502 resulting in multiple communicatoins; Fig. 5, par. 0070-0073, 0065-0066).
The combination of Al-Gharaibeh et al. and Brown et al. does not teach updating a location of a wildfire with communication or multiple communications, and sensing with a touchscreen a move of a wildfire edge from an old location to a new location.
Doten teaches updating a location of a wildfire with multiple communications (e.g. location of fire is continuously updated via information communicated via communications to the display; par. 0075-0076, 0084), and sensing with a touchscreen (e.g. touchscreen display; par. 0024, 0052) a move of a wildfire edge from an old location to a new location (e.g. user senses via touchscreen display that is continuously updated location of fire edge as if moves from old to new locations; par. 0075-0076, 0084).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the combination of Al-Gharaibeh et al. and Brown et al. to include updating a location of a wildfire with the communication and the multiple communications, and sensing with a touchscreen a move of a wildfire edge from an old location to a new location as suggested by Doten because it would allow a user at a command center to be notified of the updated wildfire location so the user could have an improved situational awareness of the area and coordinate firefighting resources.
Claim(s) 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over in view of Al-Gharaibeh et al. (US 2017/0302478) in view of Brown et al. (US 2021/0327255) in view of Doten (US 2017/0100615), as applied to the parent claim, and further in view of Ryder (US 2019/0318599).
- In reference to claim 14
The combination of Al-Gharaibeh et al., Brown et al., and Doten teaches a method that covers substantially all limitations of the parent claim. Al-Gharaibeh et al. further teaches transmitting the communication from a portable and field deployable firefighting position indicator (e.g. WiHub 512 of responder 522; Fig. 5, par. 0070-0073, 0065-0066), comprising: a global positioning system receiver (e.g. GPS receiver; par. 0015, 0058, 0075, 0077) said global positioning system receiver configured to provide a location of said firefighting position indicator (par. 0058, 0075, 0077); a transmitter (e.g. transmitter 114-1; par. 0052) communicatively coupled to said global positioning system receiver.
The combination of Al-Gharaibeh et al., Brown et al., and Doten does not teach the transmitter configured to send the communication when the firefighting position indicator senses a temperature increase of greater than one hundred degrees Fahrenheit, indicating passage of a fire.
Ryder teaches a transmitter configured to send a communication when a sensor senses a temperature increase greater than a threshold which may include greater than a threshold of one hundred degrees Fahrenheit (par. 0064).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the combination of Al-Gharaibeh et al., Brown et al., and Doten to include the transmitter configured to send the communication when the firefighting position indicator senses a temperature increase of greater than one hundred degrees Fahrenheit, indicating passage of a fire as suggested by Ryder because it would allow a user at a command center to be alerted of the increase temperatures indicating a fire so that the user may notify responders so that may take appropriate action such as equipping additional heat protection equipment.
Claim(s) 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over in view of Al-Gharaibeh et al. (US 2017/0302478) in view of Brown et al. (US 2021/0327255) in view of Doten (US 2017/0100615), as applied to the parent claim, and further in view of Goossen (US 2016/0112853).
- In reference to claim 15
The combination of Al-Gharaibeh et al., Brown et al., and Doten teaches a method that covers substantially all limitations of the parent claim. Al-Gharaibeh et al. further teaches redundantly sending the communication from the sender (e.g. sender WiHub 512 of responder 522 sending communication to receiver WiHub 503 of command center 502; Fig. 5, par. 0070-0073, 0065-0066) to the receiver through: (1) communication via said routing method selector (e.g. sending the communication to receiver WiHub 503 via routing method selector WiHub 510 of responder 510; Fig. 5, par. 0070-0075).
The combination of Al-Gharaibeh et al., Brown et al., and Doten does not teach sending the communication via a common graphical application.
Goossen teaches sending a communication via a common graphical application (par. 0038).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the combination of Al-Gharaibeh et al., Brown et al., and Doten to include sending the communication via a common graphical application as suggested by Goossen because it would increase the probability of a user corresponding to the receiver receiving a communication.
Claim(s) 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over in view of Al-Gharaibeh et al. (US 2017/0302478) in view of Doten (US 2017/0100615) in view of Goossen (US 2016/0112853).
- In reference to claim 17
Al-Gharaibeh et al. teaches a method that covers substantially all limitations of the parent claim.
Al-Gharaibeh et al. does not teach sensing with a touchscreen a move of a line from an old location to a new location.
Doten teaches sensing with a touchscreen (e.g. touchscreen display; par. 0024, 0052) a move of a line from an old location to a new location (e.g. user senses via touchscreen display that is continuously updated location of fire line as if moves from old to new locations; par. 0075-0076, 0084).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method of Al-Gharaibeh et al. to include sensing with a touchscreen a move of a line from an old location to a new location as suggested by Doten because it would allow a user at a command center to be notified of the updated line location so the user could have an improved situational awareness of the area and coordinate firefighting resources.
The combination of Al-Gharaibeh et al and Doten do not teach the line being a fire retardant.
Goossen teaches a fire retardant drop in a line. (par. 0052)
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the line of Al-Gharaibeh et al. and Doten to be a fire retardant line as taught by Goossen because it would allow a user at a command center to be notified of the updated fire retardant line so the user could have an improved situational awareness of the area and coordinate firefighting resources based upon the updated fire retardant line.
Claim(s) 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over in view of Al-Gharaibeh et al. (US 2017/0302478) in view of Goossen (US 2016/0112853).
- In reference to claim 18
Al-Gharaibeh et al. teaches a method that covers substantially all limitations of the parent claim.
Al-Gharaibeh et al. does not teach selecting a receiver of the communication with a touch screen selection of an icon on a graphical display of a firefighting zone.
Goossen teaches selecting a receiver of a communication with a touch screen selection of an icon on a graphical display of a firefighting zone (par. 0038, 0034).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method of Al-Gharaibeh et al. to include selecting a receiver of the communication with a touch screen selection of an icon on a graphical display of a firefighting zone as suggested by Goossen because it would allow a firefighter to observe the location of another firefighter and place a communication to the another firefighter without needing to know or dial a phone number or other contact information of the another firefighter.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure are:
US 2014/0348024 pertains to integrating an ad hoc cellular network into a fixed cellular network. The methods disclosed herein automate the creation and integration of these networks. In additional embodiments, we disclose methods for establishing a stand-alone, ad hoc cellular network. In either of these implementations, we integrate or establish an ad hoc cellular network using mobile ad hoc cellular base stations configured to transmit and receive over a variety of frequencies, protocols, and duplexing schemes. The methods flexibly and dynamically choose an access or backhaul configuration and radio characteristics to optimize network performance. Additional embodiments provide for enhancing an existing network's coverage as needed, establishing a local network in the event of a loss of backhaul coverage to the core network, and providing local wireless access service within the ad hoc cellular network.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BRIAN S ROBERTS whose telephone number is (571)272-3095. The examiner can normally be reached M to F, 9am to 5pm.
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, Faruk Hamza can be reached at (571) 272-7969. 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.
BRIAN S. ROBERTS
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2466
/BRIAN S ROBERTS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2466