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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to abstract idea without significantly more. The claims (1 & 8) recite(s) obtaining by monitoring unit, comparing by monitoring unit, comparing by monitoring unit, detecting by monitoring unit at least one deviation, wherein deviation indicates at least one maintenance related operation.
This judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application because obtaining, comparing, detecting, indicates, all can be done by general computer. The claim(s) does/do not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception because the monitoring unit in the elevator car obtaining, comparing, detecting a deviation, wherein deviation indicates at least one maintenance related operation, are merely just mathematical calculations.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 and 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a1) as being taught by Kattainen et al (PGPUB 2015/0083528).
With respect to claim 1, Kattainen teaches a method for detecting a maintenance mode operation of an elevator system, the method comprising the steps of:
obtaining, by a monitoring unit (fig. 1, 17) being a separate unit (13) arranged to an elevator car (1) of the elevator system, motion data of the elevator car representing at least one drive motion profile (paragraph 0017) of the elevator car;
comparing, by the monitoring unit, the obtained motion data to at least one respective reference motion profile of the elevator car (paragraph 0047/48);
detecting, by the monitoring unit, at least one deviation between the obtained motion data and the respective at least one reference motion profile, wherein the at least one deviation indicates at least one maintenance related operation (paragraph 0028); and
detecting, by the monitoring unit, the maintenance mode operation of the elevator system in response to the detection of the at least one deviation (paragraph 0028).
With respect to claim 8, Kattainen teaches monitoring unit for detecting a maintenance mode operation of an elevator system, wherein the monitoring unit is a separate control unit arranged to an elevator car of the elevator system and comprises:
a processing unit (paragraph 0023); and a memory unit (paragraph 0047) comprising a computer program code, wherein the memory unit and the computer program code (paragraph 0042) are configured to, with the processing unit, cause the monitoring unit at least to:
obtain motion data representing at least one motion profile (paragraph 0017) of the elevator car;
compare the obtained motion data to at least one respective reference motion profile of the elevator car (paragraph 0047/48);
detect at least one deviation between the obtained motion data and the respective at least one reference motion profile, wherein the at least one deviation indicates one or more maintenance related operations (paragraph 0028); and
detect the maintenance mode operation of the elevator system in response to the detection of the at least one deviation (paragraph 0028).
Conclusion
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/ERICK D GLASS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2837
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