DETAILED ACTION
Claims 1-11 have been presented for examination.
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 .
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). The certified copy has been filed in the instant application, filed on 31 May 2023.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 06 May 2026, 14 July 2023, and 31 May 2023 were filed in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Drawings
New corrected drawings in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in this application because Figures 2-5 in the drawings submitted on 31 May 2023 are missing information in each of the boxes. 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 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 1-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C 101 because the claimed invention is directed to judicial exception (i.e. abstract idea) without significantly more.
Step 1: Claims 1-8 are directed to a method, which is a process, which is a statutory category of invention. Claims 9-11 are directed to a system, which is a machine, which is a statutory category of invention. Therefore, claims 1-11 are directed to patent eligible categories of invention.
Step 2A, Prong 1: Claims 1 and 9 recite the abstract idea of monitoring a fastener, constituting an abstract idea based on Mental Processes based on concepts performed in the human mind, or with the aid of pencil and paper. The limitation of “monitoring the at least one fastening device by evaluating the digital twin” in claims 1 and 9 covers mental processes including analyzing the digital twin of the fastening device. Thus, the claims recite the abstract idea of a mental process performed in the human mind, or with the aid of pencil and paper.
Dependent claims 2-8 and 10-11 further narrow the abstract ideas, identified in the independent claims.
Step 2A, Prong 2: The judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application. The additional element of “a fastening device having an identifier” and “a computer device configured so as to maintain a digital twin of the fastening device” in claim 9, merely uses a computer device as a tool to perform the abstract idea. (MPEP 2106.05(f)). The limitation of “maintaining a digital twin of the at least one fastening device using the computer device by linking the identifier and the fastening property” in claims 1 and 9 are mere instructions to implement an abstract idea using a computer in its ordinary capacity, or merely uses the computer as a tool to perform the identified abstract idea. See MPEP (2106.05(f)) Use of a computer or other machinery in its ordinary capacity for economic or other tasks (e.g., to receive, store, or transmit data) or simply adding a general purpose computer or computer components after the fact to an abstract idea (e.g., a mental process) does not amount to significantly more. (MPEP 2106.05(f)(2)) The limitation of “providing an identifier allocated to the at least one fastening device and a fastening property allocated to the at least one fastening device to a computer device of the monitoring system” in claims 1 and 9 can be viewed as is insignificant extra-solution activity, specifically pertaining to mere data gathering/output necessary to perform the abstract idea (MPEP 2106.05(g)) and does not amount to significantly more. Therefore, the judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application.
Step 2B: Claims 1 and 9 do not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception. The additional element of “a fastening device having an identifier” and “a computer device configured so as to maintain a digital twin of the fastening device” in claim 9, merely uses a computer device as a tool to perform the abstract idea. (MPEP 2106.05(f)). The limitation of “maintaining a digital twin of the at least one fastening device using the computer device by linking the identifier and the fastening property” in claims 1 and 9 are mere instructions to implement an abstract idea using a computer in its ordinary capacity, or merely uses the computer as a tool to perform the identified abstract idea. See MPEP (2106.05(f)) Use of a computer or other machinery in its ordinary capacity for economic or other tasks (e.g., to receive, store, or transmit data) or simply adding a general purpose computer or computer components after the fact to an abstract idea (e.g., a mental process) does not amount to significantly more. (MPEP 2106.05(f)(2)) The limitation of “providing an identifier allocated to the at least one fastening device and a fastening property allocated to the at least one fastening device to a computer device of the monitoring system” in claims 1 and 9 can be viewed as is insignificant extra-solution activity, specifically pertaining to mere data gathering/output necessary to perform the abstract idea (MPEP 2106.05(g)) and does not amount to significantly more. Therefore, the claim as a whole does not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception because the additional elements, when considered alone or in combination, do not amount to significantly more than the judicial exception. As stated in Section I.B. of the December 16, 2014 101 Examination Guidelines, “[t]o be patent-eligible, a claim that is directed to a judicial exception must include additional features to ensure that the claim describes a process or product that applies the exception in a meaningful way, such that it is more than a drafting effort designed to monopolize the exception.”
The dependent claims include the same abstract ideas recited as recited in the independent claims, and merely incorporate additional details that narrow the abstract ideas and fail to add significantly more to the claims.
Dependent claim 2 is directed to further defining the fastening property, which further narrows the abstract idea identified in the independent claim, which is directed to “Mental Processes.”
Dependent claim 3 is directed to further defining what is being monitored with regards to the at least one fastening device, which further narrows the abstract idea identified in the independent claim, which is directed to “Mental Processes.”
Dependent claim 4 is directed to further defining the machine learning system, which further narrows the abstract idea identified in the independent claim, which is directed to “Mere Instructions to Apply an Exception.” (MPEP 2106.05(f))
Dependent claim 5 is directed to outputting information from the digital twin and inputting that information into a further computer device, which further narrows the abstract idea identified in the independent claim, which is directed to “Insignificant Extra-Solution Activity.” (MPEP 2106.05(g))
Dependent claim 6 is directed to further defining the output information, which further narrows the abstract idea identified in the independent claim, which is directed to “Mental Processes.”
Dependent claim 7 is directed to further gathering data of the state of the fastening device, which further narrows the abstract idea identified in the independent claim, which is directed to “Insignificant Extra-Solution Activity.” (MPEP 2106.05(g))
Dependent claim 8 is directed to repetitively sensing the identifier, which further narrows the abstract idea identified in the independent claim, which is directed to “Field of Use and Technological Environment.” (MPEP 2106.05(h))
Dependent claim 10 is directed to further defining the sensor device, fastening device, and the external reader device, which further narrows the abstract idea identified in the independent claim, which is directed to “Mental Processes.”
Dependent claim 11 is directed to further defining the external reader device, which further narrows the abstract idea identified in the independent claim, which is directed to “Mere Instructions to Apply an Exception.” (MPEP 2106.05(f))
Accordingly, claims 1-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to a judicial exception (i.e. an abstract idea) without anything significantly more.
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.
Claims 1-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent Publication 2019/0226886 A1, hereafter B, in view of U.S. Patent Publication 2017/0286572 A1, hereafter H.
Regarding Claim 1: B discloses a method for operating a monitoring system of at least one fastening device comprising:
providing an identifier allocated to the at least one fastening device and a fastening property allocated to the at least one fastening device to a computer device of a monitoring system
B [0074] “A smart-washer is a self-contained and sealed multi-sensor electronic instrument that provides the means to self-power and to wirelessly communicate data sampled from an embedded sensor device in a controlled and reconfigurable manner, under the control of an embedded microcontroller, to a reader apparatus.”
B [0076-0077] “The washer has been designed primarily to measure the clamp-force of threaded fastenings, such as nuts, bolts and screws; and in so doing can tell the user whether a bolted joint is loose or correctly fastened. However, washers according to embodiments of the present invention have optionally been augmented with additional sensor devices to report other signals that relate to the health of the asset to which the washer is fastened, and also the health of the washer itself. The suite of optional sensor devices includes, but is not limited to, clamp-force, acceleration, inclination, shock, real-time-clock, battery fuel gauge, wake-on-radio … One mode of use is the “remote condition monitoring mode”. In this mode the washer is left in the field and is usually remote from the human user.”
monitoring the at least one fastening device by evaluating
B [0085] “FIG. 1 is a schematic overview of a monitoring system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The system comprises a sensor device in the form of a smart washer SW, a first reader R, a second reader AP, an interface I, a cloud C and a remote user RU. The sensor device SW senses a parameter or condition of an asset (not shown) and wirelessly communicates data to the first reader, when operating in a real-time monitoring mode or during configuration of the sensor. A user in the local vicinity is able to communicate with the reader, and hence the sensor, using the interface”
B [0076] “The washer has been designed primarily to measure the clamp-force of threaded fastenings, such as nuts, bolts and screws; and in so doing can tell the user whether a bolted joint is loose or correctly fastened. However, washers according to embodiments of the present invention have optionally been augmented with additional sensor devices to report other signals that relate to the health of the asset to which the washer is fastened, and also the health of the washer itself. The suite of optional sensor devices includes, but is not limited to, clamp-force, acceleration, inclination, shock, real-time-clock, battery fuel gauge, wake-on-radio.”
B does not disclose maintaining a digital twin of the at least one fastening device using the computer device by linking identifier and the fastening property and evaluating the digital twin.
However, H discloses maintaining a digital twin of the at least one fastening device using the computer device by linking identifier and the fastening property and evaluating the digital twin.
H [0037] “A digital twin may estimate a remaining useful life of a twinned physical system using sensors, communications, modeling, history, and computation. It may provide an answer in a time frame that is useful, that is, meaningfully prior to a projected occurrence of a failure event or suboptimal operation. It might comprise a code object with parameters and dimensions of its physical twin's parameters and dimensions that provide measured values, and keeps the values of those parameters and dimensions current by receiving and updating values via outputs from sensors embedded in the physical twin. The digital twin may be, according to some embodiments, upgraded upon occurrence of unpredicted events and other data, such as the discovery and identification of exogenous variables, which may enhance accuracy. The digital twin may also be used to prequalify a twinned physical system's reliability for a planned mission. The digital twin may comprise a real time efficiency and life consumption state estimation device. It may comprise a specific, or “per asset,” portfolio of system models and asset specific sensors. It may receive inspection and/or operational data and track a single specific asset over its lifetime with observed data and calculated state changes. Some digital twin models may include a functional or mathematical form that is the same for like asset systems, but will have tracked parameters and state variables that are specific to each individual asset system.”
H [0050] “A user may access the system 100 via one of the user platforms 170 (e.g., a personal computer, tablet, or smartphone) to view information about and/or manage a digital twin in accordance with any of the embodiments described herein. According to some embodiments, an interactive graphical display interface may let an operator define and/or adjust certain parameters and/or provide or receive automatically generated recommendations or results.”
B and H are analogous to the claimed invention because they both pertain to means of analyzing a monitoring system.
It would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to combine the digital twin of H with the monitoring system of B because the digital twin of H facilitates assessments and predictions for a physical system in an automatic and accurate manner (See H [0002]).
Regarding Claim 2: B in view of H disclose the method according to claim 1, wherein the fastening property is at least one of:
properties relating to the at least one fastening device,
B [0076] “The washer has been designed primarily to measure the clamp-force of threaded fastenings, such as nuts, bolts and screws; and in so doing can tell the user whether a bolted joint is loose or correctly fastened. However, washers according to embodiments of the present invention have optionally been augmented with additional sensor devices to report other signals that relate to the health of the asset to which the washer is fastened, and also the health of the washer itself. The suite of optional sensor devices includes, but is not limited to, clamp-force, acceleration, inclination, shock, real-time-clock, battery fuel gauge, wake-on-radio.”
properties relating to a fastening environment of the at least one fastening device,
properties relating to the installation of the at least one fastening device,
B [0165] “During installation, the washer that is to be used is registered with the system and configured into real-time monitoring mode. As part of this process a specific washer, specific reader, specific tablet and specific user are all linked by means of component IDs and the password of the user. These appear in a time-stamped datagram. As the joint is torqued tight, the applied clamp-force is viewed on the tablet. The tightening event can be recorded as a data clip or a “compliant” data clip can be generated.”
properties relating to a maintenance or servicing of the at least one fastening device.
B [0168] “The periodic transmission of asset condition data allows the maintenance to be planned. At present maintenance is performed as a periodic routine inspection. The technology has the ability to impact the maintenance in two ways: Firstly, the RCM mode data can be used to replace periodic routine maintenance with just-in-time or on-alert maintenance.”
properties relating to measured values sensed by a sensor device operably connected to the at least one fastening device with the aid of a sensor device, and
B [0076] “The washer has been designed primarily to measure the clamp-force of threaded fastenings, such as nuts, bolts and screws; and in so doing can tell the user whether a bolted joint is loose or correctly fastened. However, washers according to embodiments of the present invention have optionally been augmented with additional sensor devices to report other signals that relate to the health of the asset to which the washer is fastened, and also the health of the washer itself. The suite of optional sensor devices includes, but is not limited to, clamp-force, acceleration, inclination, shock, real-time-clock, battery fuel gauge, wake-on-radio.”
evaluated and/or interpreted properties.
B [0076] “The washer has been designed primarily to measure the clamp-force of threaded fastenings, such as nuts, bolts and screws; and in so doing can tell the user whether a bolted joint is loose or correctly fastened. However, washers according to embodiments of the present invention have optionally been augmented with additional sensor devices to report other signals that relate to the health of the asset to which the washer is fastened, and also the health of the washer itself. The suite of optional sensor devices includes, but is not limited to, clamp-force, acceleration, inclination, shock, real-time-clock, battery fuel gauge, wake-on-radio.”
Regarding Claim 3: B in view of H discloses the method according to claim 1, wherein the monitoring the at least one fastening device includes: monitoring the at least one fastening device for a deviation of the fastening property from a target fastening property and/or for fulfillment by the fastening property of a fastening property criterion.
B [0029] “Overall the sensor unit can measure the status of a fixing and determine the condition of the fixing in light of measured parameters such as acceleration forces, shocks, vibrations, impacts and displacement (LVDT). This not only enables a loose fixing to be detected but the root cause can be determined or even anticipated. Measurements can enable the detection of flaws in the vicinity of the sensor when, for example, it is applied to a dynamic mount such as a railway line or point. Voids between tracks can be detected. Faults, or wear and tear, can be detected at switches and crossings such that the health of a switch or crossing or point can be evaluated from the measurements taken from an adjacent sensor unit.”
B does not disclose by evaluating the digital twin.
However, H discloses by evaluating the digital twin.
H [0037] “A digital twin may estimate a remaining useful life of a twinned physical system using sensors, communications, modeling, history, and computation. It may provide an answer in a time frame that is useful, that is, meaningfully prior to a projected occurrence of a failure event or suboptimal operation. It might comprise a code object with parameters and dimensions of its physical twin's parameters and dimensions that provide measured values, and keeps the values of those parameters and dimensions current by receiving and updating values via outputs from sensors embedded in the physical twin. The digital twin may be, according to some embodiments, upgraded upon occurrence of unpredicted events and other data, such as the discovery and identification of exogenous variables, which may enhance accuracy. The digital twin may also be used to prequalify a twinned physical system's reliability for a planned mission. The digital twin may comprise a real time efficiency and life consumption state estimation device. It may comprise a specific, or “per asset,” portfolio of system models and asset specific sensors. It may receive inspection and/or operational data and track a single specific asset over its lifetime with observed data and calculated state changes. Some digital twin models may include a functional or mathematical form that is the same for like asset systems, but will have tracked parameters and state variables that are specific to each individual asset system.”
H [0050] “A user may access the system 100 via one of the user platforms 170 (e.g., a personal computer, tablet, or smartphone) to view information about and/or manage a digital twin in accordance with any of the embodiments described herein. According to some embodiments, an interactive graphical display interface may let an operator define and/or adjust certain parameters and/or provide or receive automatically generated recommendations or results.”
B and H are analogous to the claimed invention because they both pertain to means of analyzing a monitoring system.
It would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to combine the digital twin of H with the monitoring system of B because the digital twin of H facilitates assessments and predictions for a physical system in an automatic and accurate manner (See H [0002]).
Regarding Claim 4: B in view of H discloses the method according to claim 1 … based on the fastening property.
B [0076] “The washer has been designed primarily to measure the clamp-force of threaded fastenings, such as nuts, bolts and screws; and in so doing can tell the user whether a bolted joint is loose or correctly fastened. However, washers according to embodiments of the present invention have optionally been augmented with additional sensor devices to report other signals that relate to the health of the asset to which the washer is fastened, and also the health of the washer itself. The suite of optional sensor devices includes, but is not limited to, clamp-force, acceleration, inclination, shock, real-time-clock, battery fuel gauge, wake-on-radio.”
B does not disclose wherein a machine-learning system is configured to evaluate the digital twin.
However, H discloses wherein a machine-learning system is configured to evaluate the digital twin.
H [0106] “Neural networks, such as auto-associative neural networks, may be useful for condition monitoring by estimating sensed values of an operating condition, determining a residual vector between the estimated sensed values and the actual values, and performing a fault diagnostic on the residual vector.”
B and H are analogous to the claimed invention because they both pertain to means of analyzing a monitoring system.
It would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to combine the digital twin of H with the monitoring system of B because the digital twin of H facilitates assessments and predictions for a physical system in an automatic and accurate manner (See H [0002]).
Regarding Claim 5: B in view of H discloses the method according to claim 1, further comprising: generating output information …; and providing the output information to a further computer device
B [0101] “In use, with the sensor device 100 powered using the inductive coupling or from an internal battery, the control unit 142 and sensor 114 are operable to output to the wireless transceiver device 116 a signal indicative of the output of the sensor 114, and hence indicative of the clamping force applied by the bolt 122 and nut 124 to the clamping region 118 or other parameters to which the sensor 114 is sensitive, for onward transmission by the wireless transceiver device 116 for reception both by the receiver device 234 of the handset 230 and by the receiver 362 of the access point 360. If desired, the signal received by the handset 230 may be processed on board the handset 230 and information output therefrom to a user. Alternatively, or additionally, the processing may be undertaken at the access point 360 or at a remote processing centre 566 with which the access point 360 is in communication. Preferably, in addition to transmitting the data representative of the sensor output, an identification signal representative of the identity of the sensor device 100 is also transmitted, thereby ensuring that the access point 360 knows from which sensor device 100 the signal has been received.”
B [0133] “FIG. 11 shows schematically a user interface device, generally at 4000, including the means to observe, input and store data. In use the interface is connected wirelessly or with wires to the reader device and can be used to configure it and receive data from it. In this way the interface can be adapted to suit the needs (permissions) of the users.”
B does not disclose generating output information based on the evaluation of the digital twin;
However, H discloses generating output information based on the evaluation of a digital twin.
H [0056] “The digital twin 250 may further include a supervisory computer control 262 that controls the overall function of the digital twin 250 and accepts inputs and produces outputs. The flow of data, data store, calculations, and/or computing required to calculate state and then subsequently use that performance and life state estimation for operations and PLM closed loop design may be orchestrated by the supervisory computer control 262 such that a digital thread connects design, manufacturing, and/or operations.
B and H are analogous to the claimed invention because they both pertain to means of analyzing a monitoring system.
It would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to combine the digital twin of H with the monitoring system of B because the digital twin of H facilitates assessments and predictions for a physical system in an automatic and accurate manner (See H [0002]).
Regarding Claim 6: B in view of H disclose the method according to claim 5, wherein the output information relates to a state of the at least one fastening device, a change in a state of the at least one fastening device, and/or an abnormality with respect to the state of the at least one fastening device.
B [0101] “In use, with the sensor device 100 powered using the inductive coupling or from an internal battery, the control unit 142 and sensor 114 are operable to output to the wireless transceiver device 116 a signal indicative of the output of the sensor 114, and hence indicative of the clamping force applied by the bolt 122 and nut 124 to the clamping region 118 or other parameters to which the sensor 114 is sensitive, for onward transmission by the wireless transceiver device 116 for reception both by the receiver device 234 of the handset 230 and by the receiver 362 of the access point 360. If desired, the signal received by the handset 230 may be processed on board the handset 230 and information output therefrom to a user. Alternatively, or additionally, the processing may be undertaken at the access point 360 or at a remote processing centre 566 with which the access point 360 is in communication. Preferably, in addition to transmitting the data representative of the sensor output, an identification signal representative of the identity of the sensor device 100 is also transmitted, thereby ensuring that the access point 360 knows from which sensor device 100 the signal has been received.”
Regarding Claim 7: B in view of H disclose the method according to claim 1, further comprising sensing the identifier and the fastening property during an installation and/or during a state of the at least one fastening device when arranged in a fastening environment.
B [0165-0167] “During installation, the washer that is to be used is registered with the system and configured into real-time monitoring mode. As part of this process a specific washer, specific reader, specific tablet and specific user are all linked by means of component IDs and the password of the user. These appear in a time-stamped datagram. As the joint is torqued tight, the applied clamp-force is viewed on the tablet. The tightening event can be recorded as a data clip or a “compliant” data clip can be generated. The smart ecosystem guarantees that the bolt has been installed, that it has been fastened to specification and that the instrumentation used and person who conducted the work are recorded. Once the installation has been completed, the washer can be placed in the RCM mode whereby periodic measurement of clamp-force and other parameters are sent to the database, thus reporting the health of the asset.”
Regarding Claim 8: B in view of H disclose the method according to claim 7, wherein the identifier and the fastening property are repeatedly sensed and provided to the computer device.
B [0165-0167] “During installation, the washer that is to be used is registered with the system and configured into real-time monitoring mode. As part of this process a specific washer, specific reader, specific tablet and specific user are all linked by means of component IDs and the password of the user. These appear in a time-stamped datagram. As the joint is torqued tight, the applied clamp-force is viewed on the tablet. The tightening event can be recorded as a data clip or a “compliant” data clip can be generated. The smart ecosystem guarantees that the bolt has been installed, that it has been fastened to specification and that the instrumentation used and person who conducted the work are recorded. Once the installation has been completed, the washer can be placed in the RCM mode whereby periodic measurement of clamp-force and other parameters are sent to the database, thus reporting the health of the asset.”
Regarding Claim 9: B in view of H disclose a monitoring system of a fastening device, comprising:
a fastening device;
B [0076] “The washer has been designed primarily to measure the clamp-force of threaded fastenings, such as nuts, bolts and screws; and in so doing can tell the user whether a bolted joint is loose or correctly fastened.
and a computer device…,
B [0081] “As stated, one example of the sensed parameter is clamp-force. In addition to the infrequent (yet periodic) use in the remote condition monitoring mode described above, the embedded sensors can be used in a “real-time mode” of operation. As an example, sampling the clamp-force ten times per second allows the application of the clamp force, as applied by a torque wrench or spanner, to be observed. In this instance the target washer needs to be reconfigured to sample and transmit data at the appropriate rate. The reader apparatus, together with a user interface unit, e.g. in the form of a tablet (computer) is used to achieve this.
wherein the monitoring system is configured to
(i) provide the identifier and a fastening property allocated to the fastening device to the computer device
B [0074] “A smart-washer is a self-contained and sealed multi-sensor electronic instrument that provides the means to self-power and to wirelessly communicate data sampled from an embedded sensor device in a controlled and reconfigurable manner, under the control of an embedded microcontroller, to a reader apparatus.”
B [0076-0077] “The washer has been designed primarily to measure the clamp-force of threaded fastenings, such as nuts, bolts and screws; and in so doing can tell the user whether a bolted joint is loose or correctly fastened. However, washers according to embodiments of the present invention have optionally been augmented with additional sensor devices to report other signals that relate to the health of the asset to which the washer is fastened, and also the health of the washer itself. The suite of optional sensor devices includes, but is not limited to, clamp-force, acceleration, inclination, shock, real-time-clock, battery fuel gauge, wake-on-radio … One mode of use is the “remote condition monitoring mode”. In this mode the washer is left in the field and is usually remote from the human user.”
(iii) monitoring the at least one fastening device by evaluating
B [0085] “FIG. 1 is a schematic overview of a monitoring system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The system comprises a sensor device in the form of a smart washer SW, a first reader R, a second reader AP, an interface I, a cloud C and a remote user RU. The sensor device SW senses a parameter or condition of an asset (not shown) and wirelessly communicates data to the first reader, when operating in a real-time monitoring mode or during configuration of the sensor. A user in the local vicinity is able to communicate with the reader, and hence the sensor, using the interface”
B [0076] “The washer has been designed primarily to measure the clamp-force of threaded fastenings, such as nuts, bolts and screws; and in so doing can tell the user whether a bolted joint is loose or correctly fastened. However, washers according to embodiments of the present invention have optionally been augmented with additional sensor devices to report other signals that relate to the health of the asset to which the washer is fastened, and also the health of the washer itself. The suite of optional sensor devices includes, but is not limited to, clamp-force, acceleration, inclination, shock, real-time-clock, battery fuel gauge, wake-on-radio.”
B does not disclose maintain the digital twin of the at least one fastening device using the computer device by linking identifier and the fastening property and evaluating the digital twin.
However, H discloses maintaining a digital twin of the at least one fastening device using the computer device by linking identifier and the fastening property and evaluating the digital twin.
H [0037] “A digital twin may estimate a remaining useful life of a twinned physical system using sensors, communications, modeling, history, and computation. It may provide an answer in a time frame that is useful, that is, meaningfully prior to a projected occurrence of a failure event or suboptimal operation. It might comprise a code object with parameters and dimensions of its physical twin's parameters and dimensions that provide measured values, and keeps the values of those parameters and dimensions current by receiving and updating values via outputs from sensors embedded in the physical twin. The digital twin may be, according to some embodiments, upgraded upon occurrence of unpredicted events and other data, such as the discovery and identification of exogenous variables, which may enhance accuracy. The digital twin may also be used to prequalify a twinned physical system's reliability for a planned mission. The digital twin may comprise a real time efficiency and life consumption state estimation device. It may comprise a specific, or “per asset,” portfolio of system models and asset specific sensors. It may receive inspection and/or operational data and track a single specific asset over its lifetime with observed data and calculated state changes. Some digital twin models may include a functional or mathematical form that is the same for like asset systems, but will have tracked parameters and state variables that are specific to each individual asset system.”
H [0050] “A user may access the system 100 via one of the user platforms 170 (e.g., a personal computer, tablet, or smartphone) to view information about and/or manage a digital twin in accordance with any of the embodiments described herein. According to some embodiments, an interactive graphical display interface may let an operator define and/or adjust certain parameters and/or provide or receive automatically generated recommendations or results.”
B and H are analogous to the claimed invention because they both pertain to means of analyzing a monitoring system.
It would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to combine the digital twin of H with the monitoring system of B because the digital twin of H facilitates assessments and predictions for a physical system in an automatic and accurate manner (See H [0002]).
Regarding Claim 10: B in view of H disclose the monitoring system according to claim 9, wherein: the fastening device comprises a sensor device configured to sense the fastening property and to generate corresponding measured values, the fastening device comprises an interface signally connected to the sensor device and configured to provide the fastening property, and the external reader device is configured to receive the fastening property from the interface of the sensor device
B [0085] “FIG. 1 is a schematic overview of a monitoring system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The system comprises a sensor device in the form of a smart washer SW, a first reader R, a second reader AP, an interface I, a cloud C and a remote user RU. The sensor device SW senses a parameter or condition of an asset (not shown) and wirelessly communicates data to the first reader, when operating in a real-time monitoring mode or during configuration of the sensor. A user in the local vicinity is able to communicate with the reader, and hence the sensor, using the interface”
Regarding Claim 11: B in view of H disclose the monitoring system according to claim 10, wherein the external reader device includes a tool configured to prepare and/or to carry out installation of the fastening device and/or to carry out a maintenance or servicing of the fastening device.
[0165] “During installation, the washer that is to be used is registered with the system and configured into real-time monitoring mode. As part of this process a specific washer, specific reader, specific tablet and specific user are all linked by means of component IDs and the password of the user. These appear in a time-stamped datagram. As the joint is torqued tight, the applied clamp-force is viewed on the tablet. The tightening event can be recorded as a data clip or a “compliant” data clip can be generated.
Conclusion
All Claims are rejected.
The prior art made record of and not relied upon is considered pertinent to the applicant’s disclosure.
Khomenko, A., Koricho, E. G., Haq, M., & Cloud, G. L. (2016). Bolt tension monitoring with reusable fiber Bragg-grating sensors. The Journal of Strain Analysis for Engineering Design, 51(2), 154-162.
This reference discloses a bolt tension monitor, which uses Bragg-grating sensor(s) embedded in a bolt shaft for preload and retained clamping force measurements. Furthermore, these instrumented bolts can be used for structural health monitoring and defect detection in joints and structures.
U.S. Patent Application 2014/0379309 A1
This reference discloses a method and system that automatically analyzes a CAP model of a fastener and derives properties for use by a computer-aided simulation process.
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STT
/SCOTT THANH BINH TRAN/Examiner, Art Unit 2186
/RENEE D CHAVEZ/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2186
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