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 .
Status of Claims
This Office Action is in response to the application filed on January 21, 2026. Claim 6 is newly added. Thus, claims 1-6 are pending. Claim 1 is independent.
Response to Arguments
Applicants’ amendments and arguments have been fully considered and persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground of rejection is made.
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.
Claims 1-3 and 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent Publication No. 20100283625 to Inagawa et al. (hereinafter “Inagawa”) in view of U.S. Patent Publication No. 20210230836 to Ding et al. (hereinafter “Ding”).
With respect to independent claim 1, Inagawa discloses system having a mutual communication function of communicating with each of plural work machines and with a remote operation device which remotely operates one work machine as a remote operation target among the plural work machines, wherein an actual machine image-capturing device, being capable of capturing an image from the work machine with the image including actual machine identification information, is mounted on the work machine as a candidate of the remote operation target among the plural work machines (see paragraph [0065]: the actual machine information signal is intermittently received by turning on the remote control side transmission/reception unit 31 each predetermined time (4 seconds) from the time at which the actual machine information signal is received from the remote controller installation unit 2 (steps 105 and 103), and the intermittent reception is finished when the switch 34 b is pressed and no information is received from the remote controller installation unit (S106)), and the remote operation system comprises:
a first assistance process element which determines whether or not one work machine as the remote operation target among the plural work machines is selected, connects a cooperating work machine with the remote operation device, the cooperating work machine being identified by an identifier corresponding to selection information as information of the one selected work machine, when a determination is made that the one work machine is selected, and acquires the image captured by the actual machine image-capturing device of the cooperating work machine (see paragraph [0044]: A transmission signal of the remote controller portable unit 3 is composed of an ID code, a command, and a check SUM each having plural bits. The “ID code” is an address code for identifying the working machine 1 when plural working machines are remotely operated, the “command” is a control code for performing a control such as a “start”, a “stop”, and the like to the engine generator of the working machine 1, and the “check SUM” is a signal for checking whether or not a signal is successfully transmitted and received between the remote controller portable unit 3 and the remote controller installation unit 2 by multiplying the “ID code” and a “command” signal.).
Inagawa discloses displaying working machine data, and displaying the machine identification mark, but does not explicitly teach a second assistance process element which causes an output interface of the remote operation device to output the image captured by the actual machine image-capturing device of the cooperating work machine.
Ding teaches that the control device 125 transmits the image captured by the front camera 122 and the swing speed, position, azimuth direction, and inclination angle of the swing body 120 to the remote operation room 500. (see paragraph [0037]).
With respect to dependent claim 2, Inagawa discloses wherein the second assistance process element causes the output interface of the remote operation device to output the selection information of the cooperating work machine to be identified by the first assistance process element (see paragraphs [0045] and [0060]: A transmission signal of the remote controller installation unit 2 is composed of an ID code, a command, actual machine information, and a check SUM each having plural bits. The “ID code” is an address code for identifying a working machine, the “command” is signal for performing various displays on the liquid crystal display unit 33, and the “actual machine information” is an information signal for transmitting the operation information of the working machine 1. The start signal includes a response request time (previously set to, for example, 5 seconds as a command designation time) until the remote controller installation unit 2 responds to the remote controller portable unit 3, along with the ID code for identifying the working machine 1 and a start command.).
With respect to dependent claim 3, Inagawa discloses wherein the first assistance process element acquires the selection information input to an input interface of the remote operation device (see paragraph [0044]: the “command” has the information of a response request time which is a time until the working machine side transmission/reception unit 21 responds to the remote control side transmission/reception unit 31.), and
the second assistance process element causes the output interface of the remote operation device to output a content of an input operation acquired by the first assistance process element (see paragraph [0062]: The response request time (command designation time) is automatically set to a time, which is longer than the time from the working machine side transmission/reception unit 21 to receive the start signal until the engine to start, by the CPU 37 of the remote controller portable unit 3. After the response request time (command designation time) has elapsed, the remote controller installation unit 2 returns a signal (actual machine information signal) including the operation information of the engine generator to the remote controller portable unit 3 (step 103).).
With respect to dependent claim 6, Inagawa does not explicitly teach wherein the image captured by the actual machine image-capturing device that includes the actual machine identification information has a landscape orientation.
Ding shows an imaging device 122 to display on remote monitors central display 521, upper display 524 and lower display 525. (see paragraph [0040] and Figure 1). Landscape orientation is the standard/default orientation for camera images in machine vision and remote monitoring applications. Accordingly landscape orientation for a machine-mounted camera is conventional, well-known design.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4 and 5 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DEMETRA R SMITH-STEWART whose telephone number is (571)270-3965. The examiner can normally be reached 10am - 6pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Peter Nolan can be reached at 571-270-7016. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/DEMETRA R SMITH-STEWART/Examiner, Art Unit 3661
/PETER D NOLAN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3661
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