Prosecution Insights
Last updated: July 17, 2026
Application No. 18/278,930

MONITORING SYSTEM, MONITORING DEVICE, AND CONSTRUCTION MACHINE

Non-Final OA §103
Filed
Aug 25, 2023
Priority
May 11, 2021 — JP 2021-080537 +1 more
Examiner
PARK, SUNGHYOUN
Art Unit
2484
Tech Center
2400 — Computer Networks
Assignee
Hitachi Construction Machinery Co., Ltd.
OA Round
2 (Non-Final)
75%
Grant Probability
Favorable
2-3
OA Rounds
0m
Est. Remaining
85%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 75% — above average
75%
Career Allowance Rate
467 granted / 624 resolved
+16.8% vs TC avg
Moderate +10% lift
Without
With
+9.8%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 9m
Avg Prosecution
23 currently pending
Career history
671
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
3.4%
-36.6% vs TC avg
§103
72.0%
+32.0% vs TC avg
§102
10.1%
-29.9% vs TC avg
§112
1.4%
-38.6% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 624 resolved cases

Office Action

§103
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 . Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114 A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 5/1/2026 has been entered. Response to Amendment The amendments, filed 12/29/2025, have been entered and made of record. Claims 1, 8, and 15 have been amended. Claims 1-20 are pending. Response to Arguments Applicant’s arguments in the Remarks filed on 12/29/2025 have been considered but are moot in view of the new ground(s) of rejection. 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. Sugimura in view of Hayakawa and Chen Claims 1, 6, and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sugimura et al.(USPubN 2022/0325503; hereinafter Sugimura) in view of Hayakawa(USPubN 2022/0032874) further in view of Chen(USPubN 2018/0222391). As per claim 1, Sugimura teaches a monitoring system for allowing a video of a peripheral region of a construction machine to be displayed on a monitoring device located outside the construction machine(“A work machine display system includes an image acquisition unit and a display control unit. The image acquisition unit acquires a captured image in which surroundings of a work machine are portrayed. The display control unit generates a display signal in order to display a display image including a peripheral image based on the captured image on a screen of a display unit after transition when the display control unit receives a transition signal for screen transition while the peripheral image is displayed on the display unit” in Abs, Fig. 1 and 2), wherein: the construction machine includes a first camera that images the peripheral region of the construction machine, a video recording device that records a moving image or a still image captured by the first camera as a video of the peripheral region(“The swing body 120 is provided with a plurality of cameras 121 that capture images of surroundings of the work machine 100. FIG. 2 is a view showing imaging ranges of the plurality of cameras provided in the work machine according to the first embodiment” in Para.[0024], [0025]), a first wireless communication device that transmits to the monitoring device or an external server the video of the peripheral region recorded on the video recording device(“the display 1431 may be installed outside the work machine 100. For example, the display 1431 may be provided at a point away from a work site, and the control device 143 may transmit a signal for displaying a display image on the display 1431 via a network such as the Internet” in Para.[0127], The display can be interpreted as monitoring device and it should be communicated with wireless so the work machine should comprises a wireless communication device because it’s installed away from a work site as well known in the art.), the monitoring device includes a second wireless communication device that communicates with the construction machine or the external server, a display device that displays the video of the peripheral region received via the second wireless communication device(Para.[0127]). Sugimura is silent about a first authentication-related information display portion that displays first authentication-related information related to only one of identification information and a password for providing the video of the peripheral region, and a second authentication-related information display portion that displays second authentication-related information related to only another of the identification information and the password for providing the video of the peripheral region, of the first authentication-related information display portion and the second authentication-related information display portion, only the first authentication-related information display portion is arranged in an operator's cab of the construction machine, and of the first authentication-related information display portion and the second authentication-related information display portion, only the second authentication-related information display portion is arranged outside the operator's cab of the construction machine, the monitoring device includes a monitoring control device, and the monitoring control device causes the display device to display an authentication screen for entering identification information and a password for receiving the video of the peripheral region, and a video display screen that displays the video of the peripheral region when the identification information and the password entered on the authentication screen respectively match true identification information and a true password. Hayakawa teaches a first authentication-related information display portion that displays first authentication-related information related to only one of identification information and a password for providing connection between the vehicle to the remote operation device, and a second authentication-related information display portion that displays second authentication-related information related to only another of the identification information and the password for providing connection between the vehicle to the remote operation device, of the first authentication-related information display portion and the second authentication-related information display portion, only the first authentication-related information display portion is arranged in an operator's cab of the construction machine, and of the first authentication-related information display portion and the second authentication-related information display portion, only the second authentication-related information display portion is arranged outside the operator's cab of the construction machine(“n example of display form in which the authentication code AC is displayed inside the subject vehicle V by the authentication code display device 22. In this example, the authentication code AC is displayed on a display 41 of a navigation device provided on the center console, a display 42 provided on the interior mirror (such as an interior mirror that displays a rear view captured by a camera), a head-up display 43, or the like. In this case, the display 41 of the navigation device, the display 42 provided on the interior mirror, and the head-up display 43 each serve as the authentication code display device 22.” in Para.[0042], “an example of display form in which the authentication code AC is displayed outside the subject vehicle V by the authentication code display device 22. In this example, provided that a device provided outside the subject vehicle V is used, the blinking pattern of a blinker 44 is displayed as the authentication code AC” in Para.[0043], “when start of a remote operation is input, displaying a predetermined authentication code stored in a vehicle inside or outside the vehicle so as to be visible, acquiring the displayed authentication code by a remote operation device, determining whether or not the authentication code acquired by the remote operation device matches the authentication code stored in the vehicle, and, upon matching, completing a paring process between the vehicle and the remote operation device” in Para.[0005], The authentication code can be interpreted as a authentication-related information display portion. The authentication code can be located in a vehicle inside or outside.). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings Sugimura with the above teachings of Hayakawa in order to improve user experience with easily access the vehicle identification. Chen teaches the monitoring device includes a monitoring control device, and the monitoring control device causes the display device to display an authentication screen for entering identification information and a password for receiving the video of the peripheral region, and a video display screen that displays the video of the peripheral region when the identification information and the password entered on the authentication screen respectively match true identification information and a true password(“To login the App, please provide the registered user email and password” in Para.[0186], “In FIG. 47, By click on the image button, and wait a little while, then we can see the DVR's live image feedback” in Para.[0195]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings Sugimura and Hayakawa with the above teachings of Chen in order to improve the user experience with user authentication. As per claim 6, Sugimura, Hayakawa and Chen teach all of limitation of claim 1. Sugimura and Hayakawa are silent about wherein: the construction machine is capable of transmitting both a recorded video and a real-time video of the first camera, and the monitoring device performs the following: displaying a display selection screen to select whether to display the recorded video or the real-time video, and displaying the recorded video or the real-time video in accordance with a selection entered on the display selection screen. Chen teaches wherein: the construction machine is capable of transmitting both a recorded video and a real-time video of the first camera, and the monitoring device performs the following: displaying a display selection screen to select whether to display the recorded video or the real-time video, and displaying the recorded video or the real-time video in accordance with a selection entered on the display selection screen (Para.[0065], [0195]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings Sugimura and Hayakawa with the above teachings of Chen in order to improve the user experience with user authentication. As per claim 10, the limitations in the claim 10 has been discussed in the rejection claim 1 and rejected under the same rationale. Sugimura in view of Hayakawa, Chen and Jefferies Claims 2 and 3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sugimura et al.(USPubN 2022/0325503; hereinafter Sugimura) in view of Hayakawa(USPubN 2022/0032874) further in view of Chen(USPubN 2018/0222391) further in view of Jefferies et al.(USPubN 2017/0316621; hereinafter Jefferies). As per claim 2, Sugimura, Hayakawa and Chen teach all of limitation of claim 1. Sugimura, Hayakawa and Chen are silent about wherein: the first authentication-related information includes an identification number of the construction machine, and the identification information for providing the video of the peripheral region includes a combination of the identification number of the construction machine and a code representing a type of the construction machine. Jefferies teaches wherein: the first authentication-related information includes an identification number of the construction machine, and the identification information for providing the video of the peripheral region includes a combination of the identification number of the construction machine and a code representing a type of the construction machine (Para.[0057], [0086]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings Sugimura, Hayakawa and Chen with the above teachings of Jefferies in order to improve user experience. As per claim 3, Sugimura, Hayakawa and Chen teach all of limitation of claim 1. Sugimura is silent about wherein: the first authentication-related information and the second authentication- related information are respectively displayed using two-dimensional barcodes on the first authentication-related information display portion and the second authentication-related information display portion, the monitoring device includes a second camera that images the two- dimensional barcodes, and the monitoring control device reads the two-dimensional barcodes imaged by the second camera to enter identification information and a password for receiving the video of the peripheral region on the authentication screen based on the first authentication-related information and the second authentication-related information. Hayakawa teaches wherein: the first authentication-related information and the second authentication- related information are respectively displayed using two-dimensional barcodes on the first authentication-related information display portion and the second authentication-related information display portion(Fig. 4 and 5). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings Sugimura with the above teachings of Hayakawa in order to improve user experience with easily access the vehicle identification. Jefferies teaches wherein: the first authentication-related information are respectively displayed using two-dimensional barcodes on the first authentication-related information display portion, the monitoring device includes a second camera that images the two- dimensional barcodes, and the monitoring control device reads the two-dimensional barcodes imaged by the second camera to enter identification information and a password for receiving the video of the peripheral region on the authentication screen based on the first authentication-related information (Para.[0047], [0099]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings Sugimura, Hayakawa and Chen with the above teachings of Jefferies in order to improve user experience with easily access the vehicle identification. Sugimura in view of Hayakawa, Chen, and Akanuma Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sugimura et al.(USPubN 2022/0325503; hereinafter Sugimura) in view of Hayakawa(USPubN 2022/0032874) further in view of Chen(USPubN 2018/0222391) further in view of Akanuma et al.(USPubN 2019/0020867; hereinafter Akanuma). As per claim 4, Sugimura, Hayakawa and Chen teach all of limitation of claim 1. Sugimura and Hayakawa are silent about the monitoring system includes a plurality of construction machines, the monitoring device displays a list of the plurality of construction machines for each of which identification information and a password for providing a video of a peripheral region have been entered, and an icon representing a type of a body of each construction machine is displayed on the list. Chen teaches the monitoring device displays a vehicle for each of which identification information and a password for providing a video of a peripheral region have been entered(Para.[0189]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings Sugimura and Hayakawa with the above teachings of Chen in order to improve the user experience with user authentication. Akanuma teaches the monitoring system includes a plurality of construction machines, the monitoring device displays a list of the plurality of construction machines, and an icon representing a type of a body of each construction machine is displayed on the list(Para.[0129]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings Sugimura, Hayakawa and Chen with the above teachings of Akanuma in order to improve user experience for accessing multiple work vehicle on a display at same time. Sugimura in view of Hayakawa, Chen, Akanuma and Umezawa Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sugimura et al.(USPubN 2022/0325503; hereinafter Sugimura) in view of Hayakawa(USPubN 2022/0032874) further in view of Chen(USPubN 2018/0222391) further in view of Akanuma et al.(USPubN 2019/0020867; hereinafter Akanuma) further in view of Umezawa et al.(USPubN 2022/0300913; hereinafter Umezawa). As per claim 5, Sugimura, Hayakawa, Chen and Akanuma teach all of limitation of claim 4. Sugimura and Hayakawa are silent about wherein: the identification information for providing the video of the peripheral region includes an identification number of the construction machine, the monitoring system further includes a construction machine database that stores the identification number of each construction machine and a model name and a machine number of the construction machine corresponding to the identification number in association with each other, and the monitoring device displays on the list of the construction machines the model name and the machine number of each construction machine obtained from the construction machine database. Chen teaches wherein: the identification information for providing the video of the peripheral region includes an identification number of the vehicle (Para.[0191]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings Sugimura and Hayakawa with the above teachings of Chen in order to improve the user experience with user authentication. Umezawa teaches the monitoring system further includes a vehicle database that stores the identification number of each vehicle and a model name and a machine number of the vehicle corresponding to the identification number in association with each other, and the monitoring device displays on the list of the vehicles the model name and the machine number of each vehicle obtained from the vehicle database (Para.[0046]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings Sugimura, Hayakawa, Chen and Akanuma with the above teachings of Umezawa in order to improve searching, browsing filtering, matching and selection of construction machine to view and watch. Sugimura in view of Hayakawa, Chen and Moradi Claims 7 and 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sugimura et al.(USPubN 2022/0325503; hereinafter Sugimura) in view of Hayakawa(USPubN 2022/0032874) further in view of Chen(USPubN 2018/0222391) further in view of Moradi et al.(USPubN 2005/0033855; hereinafter Moradi) As per claim 7, Sugimura, Hayakawa, and Chen teach all of limitation of claim 1. Sugimura, Hayakawa and Chen are silent about wherein: the monitoring device performs the following: displaying a password changing screen to change the password for receiving the video of the peripheral region, and transmitting a new password entered on the password changing screen to the first wireless communication device, and the first wireless communication device uses the received new password. Moradi teaches wherein: the monitoring device performs the following: displaying a password changing screen to change the password for receiving the video of the peripheral region, and transmitting a new password entered on the password changing screen to the first wireless communication device, and the first wireless communication device uses the received new password(Para.[0033]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings Sugimura, Hayakawa and Chen with the above teachings of Moradi in order to improve the user experience. As per claim 8, Sugimura, Hayakawa and Chen teach all of limitation of claim 7. Sugimura, Hayakawa and Chen are silent about wherein the construction machine is provided with an initialization button to initialize the password for providing the video of the peripheral region. Moradi teaches wherein the construction machine is provided with an initialization button to initialize the password for providing the video of the peripheral region (Para.[0033]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings Sugimura, Hayakawa and Chen with the above teachings of Moradi in order to improve the user experience. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SUNGHYOUN PARK whose telephone number is (571)270-1333. The examiner can normally be reached M - Thur 6:00 am - 4 pm. 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, THAI Q TRAN can be reached at (571)272-7382. 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. /SUNGHYOUN PARK/Examiner, Art Unit 2484
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Aug 25, 2023
Application Filed
Sep 24, 2025
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §103
Dec 29, 2025
Response Filed
May 01, 2026
Request for Continued Examination
May 11, 2026
Response after Non-Final Action
Jun 25, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §103 (current)

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Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

2-3
Expected OA Rounds
75%
Grant Probability
85%
With Interview (+9.8%)
2y 9m (~0m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Moderate
PTA Risk
Based on 624 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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