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 .
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 an abstract idea (mental processes) without significantly more. Claim 1 recites:
An apparatus for designing a plant, comprising: (this falls within the statutory categories of invention, the mention of design of a plant is merely generally linking the use of the exception to a technical field as per MPEP 2106.05(h).)
processing circuitry configured to: (generic computer components recited in a manner equivalent to mere instructions to apply the exception as per MPEP 2106.05(f).)
receive a specification of a position of a rack in a virtual space; (the receiving operation is insignificant extra-solution activity in the form of mere data gathering as per MPEP 2106.05(g). The data itself is abstract in nature and could be easily handled by a person mentally observing or evaluating something, and then recording details on blueprint paper.)
receive a setting of a pipe to be arranged in a layer indicating one of tiers into which the rack is partitioned in a height direction; (the receiving operation is insignificant extra-solution activity in the form of mere data gathering as per MPEP 2106.05(g). The data itself is abstract in nature and could be easily handled by a person mentally observing or evaluating something, and then recording details on blueprint paper.)
receive, from a user, an operation of arranging a first object and a second object in the virtual space, the first object being a piece of equipment having a start point, the second object being a piece of equipment having an end point; (the receiving operation is insignificant extra-solution activity in the form of mere data gathering as per MPEP 2106.05(g). The data itself is abstract in nature and could be easily handled by a person mentally observing or evaluating something, and then recording details on blueprint paper.)
determine a passable layer based on a type of the pipe and set a piping path through which the pipe is to pass; and (a person can mentally observe the blueprint of the pipes and related equipment, evaluate what they see mentally, and then make a judgement mentally to determine this, following it up by recording their judgement on the blueprint paper.)
perform pipe routing to connect a plurality of the pieces of equipment with the pipe based on the piping path and positions of the start point and the end point. (Notably this pipe routing is in the context of an abstract design, not actual construction occurring. It therefore remains within the scope of what a person could perform with mental evaluations and judgements based on the blueprint data they have previously organized, and the routing itself could be performed by a person mentally with aid of that blueprint paper to record the actual routing they mentally decide upon.)
This judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application. In particular, the claim only recites the following additional elements: 1) mere instructions to apply the exception using generic computer components (the processing circuitry), 2) generally linking the use of the exception to the technical field of plant design, and 3) insignificant extra-solution activity in the form of mere data gathering (receiving various data). The processing circuitry is recited at a high-level of generality (i.e., as a generic processor/memory performing a generic computer function of executing instructions and storing data) such that it amounts no more than mere instructions to apply the exception using a generic computer component. Accordingly, this additional element does not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application because it does not impose any meaningful limits on practicing the abstract idea. Limitations that amount to merely indicating a field of use or technological environment in which to apply a judicial exception cannot integrate a judicial exception into a practical application. The specification that data is received is only tangentially linked to the determination and analysis steps, and does not meaningfully limit the claim. The claim is directed to an abstract idea.
The claim does not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception. As discussed above with respect to integration of the abstract idea into a practical application, the additional element of using processing circuitry to perform the claimed steps amounts to no more than mere instructions to apply the exception using a generic computer component. Mere instructions to apply an exception using a generic computer component cannot provide an inventive concept. Limitations that amount to merely indicating a field of use or technological environment in which to apply a judicial exception do not amount to significantly more than the exception itself. The addition of insignificant extra-solution activity does not amount to an inventive concept. The claim is not patent eligible.
Claims 2-4 and 7-18 recite only further details regarding the mental processes conducted, as well as further specification of receiving information as user input, which as in discussion above of receiving data for claim 1, remains within the scope of mere data gathering (i.e. insignificant extra-solution activity as per MPEP 2106.05(g)). As such, these claims remain ineligible for the reasons set forth above for claim 1.
Claims 5 and 6 additional recite details drawn to the display of results via an “editing screen”. These features amount to insignificant extra-solution activity in the form of selecting a particular data source or type of data to be manipulated, as per MPEP 2106.05(g). No detail is given on how the display is structured, rather, the display is set forth in terms of what abstract data is displayed. Therefore, these claims remain ineligible for the reasons set forth above for claim 1.
Claims 19 and 20 are substantially similar to claim 1, and are rejected under the same grounds as those set forth above for claim 1.
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 1-3, 12, 19, and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Toshiba (US 20100235147 A1) in view of Mitsubishi (JP 2019106141 A).
Regarding Claim 1:
Toshiba teaches:
An apparatus for designing a plant, comprising: (Abstract, A device even at the time of initial planning of plant design easily and rapidly generates three-dimensional arrangement adjustment CAD data which describes a route for arrangement of cable housing components.)
processing circuitry configured to: (claim 14, designs by a computer using a three-dimensional CAD to arrange cable housing components for housing cables provided within a plant)
receive a specification of a position of a rack in a virtual space; (¶2 This invention relates to a device for easily generating three-dimensional arrangement adjustment CAD data, which describes arrangement routes, within a plant, for cable housing components, such as cable trays, cable racks, duct banks, and cable conduits, and similar, by utilizing a cable list in which cable specifications, via information, and similar are described, as well as a control method and control program for such a device.; Fig. 14; ¶79 After making the above-described initial settings, an output file is generated in the control unit 400 as described below. First, as shown in FIG. 14, the area generation section 410 reads prescribed area numbers, minimum point coordinates and maximum point coordinates from the area coordinate file 300, and generates a prescribed area in virtual three-dimensional space (S1401). Further, the area generation section 410 designates representative points for connection of cable housing components in the center of each face of the generated area; ¶80 the cable list information acquisition section 421 acquires cable specifications, starting point information, end point information, and other information stored in cable lists, from the cable list file 100)
receive a setting of a pipe to be arranged in a layer indicating one of tiers into which the rack is partitioned in a height direction; (Fig. 14; ¶79 After making the above-described initial settings, an output file is generated in the control unit 400 as described below. First, as shown in FIG. 14, the area generation section 410 reads prescribed area numbers, minimum point coordinates and maximum point coordinates from the area coordinate file 300, and generates a prescribed area in virtual three-dimensional space (S1401). Further, the area generation section 410 designates representative points for connection of cable housing components in the center of each face of the generated area; ¶80 the cable list information acquisition section 421 acquires cable specifications, starting point information, end point information, and other information stored in cable lists, from the cable list file 100)
receive, from a user, an operation of arranging a first object and a second object in the virtual space, the first object being a piece of equipment having a start point, the second object being a piece of equipment having an end point; (¶75 When executing generation of three-dimensional arrangement adjustment CAD data for cable housing components using the control unit 400, the user must make the initial settings indicated below.; ¶76 user designates the cable list file, area coordinate file, and cable specification file as the input files, as indicated in the settings screen of FIG. 15.; Fig. 20; ¶95 And, the three-dimensional cable housing component model generated by the control unit 400 is as shown in FIG. 20, shown as three-dimensional CAD data. The cross-sections of cable housing components are shown for conditions in which the widths are fixed, the heights are variable, and the number of stages is one. Here, by consolidating five cables having in common cable specifications, the starting point area, via areas, and end point area, as shown in FIG. 16, the cables are shown handled as the same cable housing component route. The starting point equipment (panel) is also common, so that the starting point area from the starting point equipment (panel) is consolidated as a single cable.)
determine a passable layer based on a type of the pipe and set a piping path through which the pipe is to pass; and (Fig. 10; ¶64 As shown in FIG. 10, this three-dimensional model conversion section 480 has width/height/stage addition section 482, for adding the width, height, and stages to the route cross-section of a cable housing component, according to the cable housing component cross-sectional area calculated by the cable housing component cross-sectional area calculation section 481. This width/height/stage addition section 482 calculates the width and height, and when necessary the number of stages, to be added to the cross-section of a cable housing component route, based on the cross-sectional area of the cable housing component calculated by the cable housing component cross-sectional area calculation section 481, and adds these as the shape of the route cross-section.; ¶64-67; ¶68 Further, when calculating the number of stages from the cross-sectional area with the width and height fixed, as shown in FIG. 10D, the cross-sectional area of the cable housing component calculated by the cable housing component cross-sectional area calculation section 481 is divided by the preset (fixed) width and (fixed) height to calculate the number of stages, and cable housing components for each stage with the (fixed) height and (fixed) width are arranged at intervals for cable housing components set at the time of initial settings.)
perform pipe routing to connect a plurality of the pieces of equipment with the pipe based on the piping path and positions of the start point and the end point. (¶91 Through the above-described S1401 to S1418, a three-dimensional cable housing component route model, which is a three-dimensional CAD data cable housing component route, is generated, and is output as a rile [sic] by the output section 490 (S1419).; examiner notes there is an obvious typo in this section of the reference. The word "rile" should be read as "file".)
Toshiba does not teach in particular, but Mitsubishi teaches:
applying CAD-based routing to pipes and piping, rather than to cables. (Abstract, SOLUTION: A pipe route creating device 1 includes a route search unit 11 for searching a plurality of pipe routes which are pipe routes, and a route alignment unit 12 for aligning a plurality of pipe routes.; ¶2, The apparatus is, for example, a plant. At the design stage of the individually manufactured plant, a route design of piping connecting a plurality of devices arranged inside the plant is performed.)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to apply the pipe routing application of Mitsubishi, along with its pipe-specific modeling considerations, to the CAD based plant planning system of Toshiba, specifically by using Toshiba's cable routing methodology on pipes rather than cables, in order to "to improve the efficiency of processing of piping route design" (Mitsubishi, ¶7)
Regarding Claim 2:
Toshiba teaches:
in receiving of the specification of the position of the rack, a specification of a longitudinal direction of the rack is received, and (¶81 Here, the route generation section 430 generates a route, based on interface directions corresponding to the starting point and end point information read from the cable list file 100 by the cable information acquisition section 420, so as to connect the cable housing component from the upward direction to the equipment (panel) in the area if the interface direction is the upward direction, or to connect the cable housing component to the equipment (panel) from the downward direction if the interface direction is the downward direction.)
in setting of the piping path, in a case where there are a plurality of the racks that are passable, distances between the racks and the start point and the end point in a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction are measured, a rack closest to the start point and the end point is determined, and the piping path is set. (¶49 Here, the route generation section 430 generates routes such that the shortest distances are covered between areas; ¶55 such that the shortest distances are covered between the starting point area and a via area, between via areas, and between a via area and the end point area, taking into consideration the conditions of selection of via area faces. Specifically, this route correction section 460 corrects a generated cable housing component route such that, as shown in FIG. 8, in the via areas 2 and 3 through which the route passes, the route passes linearly between faces of the via areas 2, 3 in which the cross-sectional areas are small.; ¶60 That is, the shortest routes between areas are determined by the route correction section 460, and so the three xyz components are used to generate routes for cable housing components so as to connect the representative points on the faces of the areas according to the shortest routes.; ¶86 taking the shortest distances between areas into consideration, so that the xyz component conversion section 470 combines cable housing component routes between areas converted into xyz components so as to connect representative points on the faces of each area.; see also 3rd to last paragraph of Mitsubishi, The alignment process of the route alignment unit 12 is not limited to the above example. In order to reduce the maximum value of the height from the reference plane of the array, the route alignment unit 12 may align the bending point with the alignment guide located in the Z-axis direction below the bending point.)
Regarding Claim 3:
Toshiba does not teach in particular, but Mitsubishi teaches:
receive a setting of a pipe design parameter that is one of various conditions to be referred to when the pipe is routed, and (Abstract, searches for a plurality of pipe routes that are different from each other in the arrangement positions of the pipes based on the design information, the connection information, and the pipe size)
in performing the pipe routing, connect the plurality of the pieces of equipment together with the pipe according to the pipe design parameter. (Abstract, searches for a plurality of pipe routes that are different from each other in the arrangement positions of the pipes based on the design information, the connection information, and the pipe size; ¶8 The route search unit is a route of different pipes based on design information including at least arrangement information of devices arranged in the target space and installation position information of piping in the devices, and connection information indicating the devices to which the piping is connected.; ¶13 The piping route creation device 1 acquires design information including at least arrangement information of equipment disposed in the target space and installation position information of piping in the equipment, and connection information indicating equipment to which the piping is connected. The arrangement information includes the dimensions of the device, the position where the device is arranged, and the like. The mounting position information includes the position where piping can be mounted on the device. The design information is, for example, three-dimensional CAD (Computer-Aided Design) data. Design information is represented, for example, by coordinates. The connection information indicates, for example, a plurality of devices connected by the pipe for each pipe. The piping route creation device 1 further includes a setting unit 13 that sets a piping size, a position of an alignment guide to be described later, a target value of height from a reference surface of the piping, a target value of a piping interval, and the like. The pipe size includes the shape of the cross section of the pipe, the diameter or length of the pipe and the length of the short side, the thickness of the pipe, and the like)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to apply the pipe routing application of Mitsubishi, along with its pipe-specific modeling considerations, to the CAD based plant planning system of Toshiba, specifically by using Toshiba's cable routing methodology on pipes rather than cables, in order to "to improve the efficiency of processing of piping route design" (Mitsubishi, ¶7)
Regarding Claim 12:
Toshiba does not teach in particular, but Mitsubishi teaches:
perform the pipe routing so that a plurality of pipes forming a same pipe system are routed in such a manner that the pipes are adjacent to one another. (¶6 avoiding interference between piping and equipment and mutual interference of piping, shortening the piping length, keeping the interval between adjacent pipings constant, and keeping the height from the reference surface of the piping constant It is required)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to apply the pipe routing application of Mitsubishi, along with its pipe-specific modeling considerations, to the CAD based plant planning system of Toshiba, specifically by using Toshiba's cable routing methodology on pipes rather than cables, in order to "to improve the efficiency of processing of piping route design" (Mitsubishi, ¶7)
Regarding Claims 19 and 20:
Claims 19 and 20 are substantially similar to claim 1, and are rejected under the same grounds as those set forth above for claim 1.
Claims 4, 5, 7-11 and 13-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Toshiba (US 20100235147 A1) in view of Mitsubishi (JP 2019106141 A), and further in view of Belov (Belov, G., Czauderna, T., Dzaferovic, A., Garcia de la Banda, M., Wybrow, M., & Wallace, M. (2017, August). An optimization model for 3D pipe routing with flexibility constraints. In International Conference on Principles and Practice of Constraint Programming (pp. 321-337). Cham: Springer International Publishing.).
Regarding Claim 4:
Toshiba does not teach in particular, but Belov teaches:
receive a specification of at least one parameter that is to be disabled in the pipe routing out of the pipe design parameters that are preset, and (Section 3.1, "The input data to the second phase includes the following: ... safety distance to equipment and other pipes ... We also input lower/upper pipe segment length bounds, where segment length denotes the distance between the segment’s defining nodes, and a node is either a bend (assuming bend radius zero) or the pipe nozzle attachment point."; Examiner notes that entering zero for these parameters is equivalent to disabling them.; Section 5.2, Also, each pipe is first routed without the GCM flexibility constraints, and subsequently re-routed with them if stress violations occur (i.e., if the stress is greater than that allowed by SpA). For example, Fig. 1 shows the result of routing pipes without GCM constraints (left), and the subsequent loops added to reduce the stress down to allowable levels (right).)
in performing the pipe routing, perform the pipe routing without consideration given to the parameter specified to be disabled. (Section 5.2, Also, each pipe is first routed without the GCM flexibility constraints, and subsequently re-routed with them if stress violations occur (i.e., if the stress is greater than that allowed by SpA). For example, Fig. 1 shows the result of routing pipes without GCM constraints (left), and the subsequent loops added to reduce the stress down to allowable levels (right).)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to apply the pipe routing methodology and features of Belov to the CAD based plant planning system of Toshiba as modified by Mitsubishi above (the combination as previously established being a pipe planning system), in order to implement a new model of the pipe routing subproblem that integrates realistic requirements, such as flexibility constraints, and aims for optimality (Belov, Abstract).
Regarding Claim 5:
Toshiba does not teach in particular, but Belov teaches:
wherein in receiving of the setting of the pipe, the processing circuitry is further configured to display an editing screen that displays a type of a pipe to be arranged for each layer of the rack. (Fig. 2; Solutions for our largest problem instance with (right) and without (left) GCM constraints. The brown base represents the ground level. The cuboids represent equipment. The pipe rack is comprised of the four stacked plane-like cuboids that span most of the length of the volume. Pipes are depicted in different colors to differentiate them; Section 6., We have developed an interactive 3D visualization that enables engineers to explore the produced layout, and to evaluate and validate the proposed solution in a familiar way (see Fig. 2 for two examples). This visualization displays pipes in different colors, drawing them as cylinders (rather than cuboids) of the appropriate diameter with visual bends.)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to apply the pipe routing methodology and features of Belov to the CAD based plant planning system of Toshiba as modified by Mitsubishi above (the combination as previously established being a pipe planning system), in order to implement a new model of the pipe routing subproblem that integrates realistic requirements, such as flexibility constraints, and aims for optimality (Belov, Abstract).
Regarding Claim 7:
Toshiba does not teach in particular, but Belov teaches:
perform the routing in conformity to a constraint that is predefined based on a type of a pipe to be routed. (Section 3.3 Constraints; see also details on the parameters of each pipe in Section 3.1 ("Set of P pipes …"))
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to apply the pipe routing methodology and features of Belov to the CAD based plant planning system of Toshiba as modified by Mitsubishi above (the combination as previously established being a pipe planning system), in order to implement a new model of the pipe routing subproblem that integrates realistic requirements, such as flexibility constraints, and aims for optimality (Belov, Abstract).
Regarding Claim 8:
Toshiba does not teach in particular, but Belov teaches:
adjust a vertical direction of the pipe that extends from the rack to a start/end point of a piece of equipment based on a state of a fluid to flow through the pipe to be routed. (Section 3.3, The thermal expansion of pipe … along axis x is defined as: ...Finally, the expansion stress on p’s segment is permissible when …; Section 5.1, Finally, all benchmarks impose the following flexibility/stress capacity requirements on all pipes in the plant, which are taken from the example in Sect. 4.5; Fig. 1, Left: shows pipes routed without flexibility considerations, where dashed pipes indicate pipe segments with greater than the allowable stress SpA: the shorter the dashes the higher the stress. Right: shows re-routed pipes with extension loops to relieve stress.)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to apply the pipe routing methodology and features of Belov to the CAD based plant planning system of Toshiba as modified by Mitsubishi above (the combination as previously established being a pipe planning system), in order to implement a new model of the pipe routing subproblem that integrates realistic requirements, such as flexibility constraints, and aims for optimality (Belov, Abstract).
Regarding Claim 9:
Toshiba does not teach in particular, but Belov teaches:
determine, based on a constraint condition concerning a vertical position relationship in a path that extends from an input start point to an end point, a connection structure of the pipe. (Section 3.3, The thermal expansion of pipe … along axis x is defined as: ...Finally, the expansion stress on p’s segment is permissible when …; Section 5.1, Finally, all benchmarks impose the following flexibility/stress capacity requirements on all pipes in the plant, which are taken from the example in Sect. 4.5; Fig. 1, Left: shows pipes routed without flexibility considerations, where dashed pipes indicate pipe segments with greater than the allowable stress SpA: the shorter the dashes the higher the stress. Right: shows re-routed pipes with extension loops to relieve stress.)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to apply the pipe routing methodology and features of Belov to the CAD based plant planning system of Toshiba as modified by Mitsubishi above (the combination as previously established being a pipe planning system), in order to implement a new model of the pipe routing subproblem that integrates realistic requirements, such as flexibility constraints, and aims for optimality (Belov, Abstract).
Regarding Claim 10:
Toshiba does not teach in particular, but Belov teaches:
determine a turn of a pipe for routing according to a priority that is preset to the pipe to be routed, with a relation with another pipe taken into account. (Section 3.1, cost per bend CpB; examiner notes that this optimization parameter is effectively equivalent to a "priority" for keeping the pipe striaght, as when it is higher, the pipe will receive heavier weighting to staying straight due to the increased cost of a bend; Section 3.1, where segment length denotes the distance between the segment’s defining nodes, and a node is either a bend (assuming bend radius zero) or the pipe nozzle attachment point. … here the first and last nodes are the nozzle attachment points (and thus, they are known as they were set in phase one), and the rest correspond to pipe bends.; Section 3.3, The placement of bends within a support zone is modeled as a reified form of condition; )
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to apply the pipe routing methodology and features of Belov to the CAD based plant planning system of Toshiba as modified by Mitsubishi above (the combination as previously established being a pipe planning system), in order to implement a new model of the pipe routing subproblem that integrates realistic requirements, such as flexibility constraints, and aims for optimality (Belov, Abstract).
Regarding Claim 11:
Toshiba does not teach in particular, but Belov teaches:
wherein an initial value of the priority is set in such a manner that a higher value is set to a pipe having a larger diameter than a pipe having a smaller diameter. (Section 3.1, external diameter Dp (corresponding to the length of any side of the square cross-section); Section 3.3, Also, the deflection capacity d of a segment under the method’s assumptions can be given as: …Dp is the external diameter of pipe p; examiner notes that the Dp parameter appears in the denominator of the equation, which results in the deflection capacity decreasing when diameter increases, which is in the context of this being a major constraint used by the reference's system is equivalent to prioritizing lesser deflection (i.e. bending) for higher diameter pipes.)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to apply the pipe routing methodology and features of Belov to the CAD based plant planning system of Toshiba as modified by Mitsubishi above (the combination as previously established being a pipe planning system), in order to implement a new model of the pipe routing subproblem that integrates realistic requirements, such as flexibility constraints, and aims for optimality (Belov, Abstract).
Regarding Claim 13:
Toshiba does not teach in particular, but Belov teaches:
receive, from a user, an operation of arranging a third object in the virtual space, the third object being a structure in which the piece of equipment is mounted in the plant; (Section 3.1, Set M of equipment and their locations as provided by phase one, which models each equipment piece … several types, including vessels, heat exchangers, pumps, the pipe rack (a multi-platform structure that traverses the entire plant), and the source/sink points that connect the main pipe to parts of the plant not considered by the problem instance.)
receive an arrangement of a piping layer that defines a position of a pipe to be laid in the structure, the position being in a height direction; and (Section 3.1, Set SZ of cuboid support zones (i.e., areas that can support pipes) … and a length, width, and height vector … Note that some of these support zones are associated to equipment (mostly vessels), while some are associated to each of the platforms in the pipe rack)
in performing the pipe routing, perform pipe routing in such a manner that heights of pipes are aligned along the piping layer. (Fig. 2; Solutions for our largest problem instance with (right) and without (left) GCM constraints. The brown base represents the ground level. The cuboids represent equipment. The pipe rack is comprised of the four stacked plane-like cuboids that span most of the length of the volume. Pipes are depicted in different colors to differentiate them)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to apply the pipe routing methodology and features of Belov to the CAD based plant planning system of Toshiba as modified by Mitsubishi above (the combination as previously established being a pipe planning system), in order to implement a new model of the pipe routing subproblem that integrates realistic requirements, such as flexibility constraints, and aims for optimality (Belov, Abstract).
Regarding Claim 14:
Toshiba does not teach in particular, but Belov teaches:
receive editing of a region of the piping layer defined in the structure, the editing being in a width direction. (Section 3.1, The input data to the second phase includes the following: … as a cuboid with given length, width and height … Set SZ of cuboid support zones … and a length, width, and height vector; Section 5.1, We experimented with several pipe orders, including widest pipe first (according to diameter), and largest-surface pipe first (according to a combined measure of approximated length x width); Section 7, an interactive visual interface that allows users to make changes of the optimization model via direct manipulation of a 3D model. These actions would trigger the optimization software to compute a new solution, which is then visualized and compared to the previous one.)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to apply the pipe routing methodology and features of Belov to the CAD based plant planning system of Toshiba as modified by Mitsubishi above (the combination as previously established being a pipe planning system), in order to implement a new model of the pipe routing subproblem that integrates realistic requirements, such as flexibility constraints, and aims for optimality (Belov, Abstract).
Regarding Claim 15:
Toshiba does not teach in particular, but Belov teaches:
receive, from a user, an operation of arranging a fourth object in the virtual space, the fourth object being a tower that is installed upright along a height direction in the plant; and (Fig. 2; Solutions for our largest problem instance with (right) and without (left) GCM constraints. The brown base represents the ground level. The cuboids represent equipment. The pipe rack is comprised of the four stacked plane-like cuboids that span most of the length of the volume. Pipes are depicted in different colors to differentiate them; Section 7, an interactive visual interface that allows users to make changes of the optimization model via direct manipulation of a 3D model. These actions would trigger the optimization software to compute a new solution, which is then visualized and compared to the previous one.)
in performing the pipe routing, in a case where the piece of equipment is the tower, perform pipe routing in such a manner that the pipe extends in a height direction along an outer circumferential surface of the tower while the pipe extends toward a start/end point of the tower. (Fig. 2; Solutions for our largest problem instance with (right) and without (left) GCM constraints. The brown base represents the ground level. The cuboids represent equipment. The pipe rack is comprised of the four stacked plane-like cuboids that span most of the length of the volume. Pipes are depicted in different colors to differentiate them)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to apply the pipe routing methodology and features of Belov to the CAD based plant planning system of Toshiba as modified by Mitsubishi above (the combination as previously established being a pipe planning system), in order to implement a new model of the pipe routing subproblem that integrates realistic requirements, such as flexibility constraints, and aims for optimality (Belov, Abstract).
Regarding Claim 16:
Toshiba does not teach in particular, but Belov teaches:
when a position relationship between pieces of equipment to be connected together with the pipe satisfies a prescribed position relationship, the processing circuitry is configured to perform the pipe routing so that the pipe is directly routed to the pieces of equipment without passing through the rack. (Section 3.3 , Object Non-overlapping Constraints. They ensure the pipes do not overlap with other pipes and any other equipment (note that the non-overlapping among equipment has already been achieved in phase one) and take into account the required safety distances)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to apply the pipe routing methodology and features of Belov to the CAD based plant planning system of Toshiba as modified by Mitsubishi above (the combination as previously established being a pipe planning system), in order to implement a new model of the pipe routing subproblem that integrates realistic requirements, such as flexibility constraints, and aims for optimality (Belov, Abstract).
Regarding Claim 17:
Toshiba does not teach in particular, but Belov teaches:
wherein in a case where a pipe is directly connected to the pieces of equipment, when the rack is arranged between the pieces of equipment, the processing circuitry is configured to perform the pipe routing so that the pipe is directly routed to the pieces of equipment, crossing the rack. (Section 3.3, According to our cost assumption, namely … with the zero cost belonging to (disjoint) rack support levels, we add to the objective function the following variables for each bend’s support cost:; Section 5.1, support cost CjpSZ: 10 x the per-meter length cost of p for all bends except those located in the 0–3 m “ground level zone” or in the “preferred rack levels” at heights 3, 6, 9, and 12 m, which have no cost.)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to apply the pipe routing methodology and features of Belov to the CAD based plant planning system of Toshiba as modified by Mitsubishi above (the combination as previously established being a pipe planning system), in order to implement a new model of the pipe routing subproblem that integrates realistic requirements, such as flexibility constraints, and aims for optimality (Belov, Abstract).
Regarding Claim 18:
Toshiba does not teach in particular, but Belov teaches:
the rack includes a main rack a longitudinal direction of which extends in a reference direction and a sub rack a longitudinal direction of which extends along a direction orthogonal to the reference direction, and a layer of the main rack is at a different height from a layer of the sub rack. (Section 3.1, can be of several types, including vessels, heat exchangers, pumps, the pipe rack (a multi-platform structure that traverses the entire plant), and the source/sink points that connect the main pipe to parts of the plant not considered by the problem instance.; Section 3.1, Set SZ of cuboid support zones ... while some are associated to each of the platforms in the pipe rack.; Fig. 2; Solutions for our largest problem instance with (right) and without (left) GCM constraints. The brown base represents the ground level. The cuboids represent equipment. The pipe rack is comprised of the four stacked plane-like cuboids that span most of the length of the volume. Pipes are depicted in different colors to differentiate them; Section 7, an interactive visual interface that allows users to make changes of the optimization model via direct manipulation of a 3D model. These actions would trigger the optimization software to compute a new solution, which is then visualized and compared to the previous one.)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to apply the pipe routing methodology and features of Belov to the CAD based plant planning system of Toshiba as modified by Mitsubishi above (the combination as previously established being a pipe planning system), in order to implement a new model of the pipe routing subproblem that integrates realistic requirements, such as flexibility constraints, and aims for optimality (Belov, Abstract).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 6 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection under 35 U.S.C. 101 set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Claim 6 requires “wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to display, in the editing screen, an occupancy of each of types of pipes to be arranged for each layer of the rack.”
The closest prior art regarding this pipe-type specific occupancy feature is the specification of equation 9 in the Belov reference, which includes a calculation with "L is the segment length", which is squared and in part divided by "Dp [which] is the external diameter of pipe". This is just used for orienting and structuring the pipe routing, however, is not actually displayed as a value for each pipe, and isn't actually the correct calculation for occupancy as explicitly defined in the instant application's specification on ¶190, "The occupancy refers to a ratio occupied by a length of a specified pipe in its width direction (diameter) with respect to a length of a layer in its width direction (X direction)."
Examiner notes the claim is still rejected under 35 USC 101 above, so is not being indicated as allowable in its present state, merely being indicated as distinguishing over the prior art.
Conclusion
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/BIJAN MAPAR/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2189
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