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 allowance or after an Office action under Ex Parte Quayle, 25 USPQ 74, 453 O.G. 213 (Comm'r Pat. 1935). 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, prosecution in this application has been reopened pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 04/27/2026 has been entered.
Status of Claims
Claims 1, 3, 5-15 are pending and Claims 2 and 4 are canceled in response to the RCE filed on 04/27/2026.
Claim Objections
Claims 1, 3, 5-15 are objected to because of the following informality:
Claim 1 recites the conjunction term “and” that is grammatically improper when it’s recited too early in the claim: “wherein the Internet of Things platform is configured to send the target response information to the LoRa gateway, and” (line 18).
Claim 5 fails to recite a comma at the end of each lines 21 and 23: “wherein the LoRa gateway is configured to forward the target response information to the lubricator‸” and “wherein the lubricator is configured to switch to a sleep state after receiving the target response information‸”.
Claim 1 recites the following acronyms that should spell out at first instance:
“LoRa gateway” at line 3. For example, Long Range (LoRa) gateway.
“LoRaWan communication protocol” at line 10. For example, Long Range Wide Area Network (LoRaWAN) communication protocol.
Claim 3 recites the following acronyms that should spell out at first instance:
“LoRa gateway” at line 4. For example, Long Range (LoRa) gateway.
“LoRaWan communication protocol” at line 11. For example, Long Range Wide Area Network (LoRaWAN) communication protocol.
Claim 5 recites the following acronyms that should spell out at first instance:
“LoRa gateway” at line 4. For example, Long Range (LoRa) gateway.
“LoRaWan communication protocol” at line 11. For example, Long Range Wide Area Network (LoRaWAN) communication protocol.
Claim 8 recites the following acronyms that should spell out at first instance:
“LoRa gateway” at line 4. For example, Long Range (LoRa) gateway.
“LoRaWan communication protocol” at line 11. For example, Long Range Wide Area Network (LoRaWAN) communication protocol.
Appropriate corrections are required.
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 set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied 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 and 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over ARUNJEYAKUMAR G. (IN-202141036204-A)1 in view of Kuijpers et al. (US-2016/0290558-A1).
With respect to claim 1, ARUNJEYAKUMAR teaches a lubricator control system (fig.1) comprising:
a lubricator (smart lubricators, fig.1 and abstract);
a LoRa gateway (LoRaWAN gateway, fig.1 and abstract);
an Internet of Things platform (IoT technologies, fig.1 and abstract), wherein the Internet of Things platform includes a network server (IOT technologies with LoRaWAN network, fig.1 and abstract); and
an application server (IOT technologies with LoRaWAN network, internet, mobile application and computer software application, fig.1 and abstract);
wherein the lubricator is configured to communicate with the application server in a long-distance and low-power consumption wireless communication mode (fig.1 teaches the lubricators connected to the LoRaWAN network via LoRaWAN gateway via LoRaWAN protocol),
wherein the lubricator is configured to communicate with the Internet of Things platform based on a LoRaWan communication protocol and to send target information to the LoRa gateway (fig.1 teaches the lubricators exchange communication to and from IoT technologies and LoRaWAN network based on LoRaWAN protocol via LoRaWAN gateway),
wherein the LoRa gateway is configured to forward the target information to the Internet of Things platform, wherein the Internet of Things platform is configured to send the target information to the application server (fig.1 teaches LoRaWAN gateway exchange communication and control to and from the IoT Technologies and LoRaWAN network),
wherein the application server is configured to receive the target information and to send corresponding target response information to the Internet of Things platform (fig.1 teaches mobile application and computer software application via internet exchange communication to and from IoT technologies and LoRaWAN network),
wherein the Internet of Things platform is configured to send the target response information to the LoRa gateway (fig.1 teaches the IoT Technologies and LoRaWAN network exchange communication to and from the LoRaWAN gateway), and
wherein the LoRa gateway is configured to forward the target response information to the lubricator (fig.1 teaches the LoRaWAN gateway exchange communication to and from the lubricators),
wherein the lubricator to send the lubricator data to the LoRa gateway, and wherein the LoRa gateway is configured to send the lubricator data to the Internet of Things platform (fig.1 teaches smart lubricators are enabled with LoRa nodes which connects to LoRa gateway to exchange performance reports remotely by using IoT, claim 1 and abstract).
With respect to claim 1, ARUNJEYAKUMAR does not appear to teach:
wherein the lubricator is configured to switch to a sleep state after receiving the target response information, wherein the target information includes lubricator state detection data, wherein the lubricator is configured to wake up from the sleep state at a periodic reporting time, and to obtain the lubricator state detection data.
However, it is known by Kuijpers to teach: wherein the lubricator is configured to switch to a sleep state after receiving the target response information, wherein the target information includes lubricator state detection data (Kuijpers: When the machine goes to the “OFF” state the lubricator may still continue to lubricate at a few instances dictated by the lubrication-rate-setting, until the decision-algorithm has detected the “Off”-state for a number of time-instances in a row and the lubrication is ‘put on hold’ or goes in to safety lubrication-rate mode, [0043]), wherein the lubricator is configured to wake up from the sleep state at a periodic reporting time, and to obtain the lubricator state detection data (Kuijpers: If both the machine and the lubricator are in the “Off” state the state-detection can be implemented in the lubricator such that at regular time-intervals the statistical value is determined or a ‘wake-up’ trigger can be used, as some vibration- or accelerometer semiconductor chips have “tap” detection functionality to wake up from ‘standby-sleep’ mode, [0043]; the interval 28a, 28b should be chosen such that relevant changes of the operating state are safely detected. In this context, changes are to be considered relevant if a failure to adapt the lubrication rate would lead to either damages or increased wear because of lacking lubricant or to a waste of lubricant due to long-lasting undetected OFF-states. This implies that the sampling intervals should be smaller than the typical on-times and off-times of the machine, whichever is smaller, [0044]).
Because Kuijpers’ teaching is also directed to a lubricating device with a control unit (Kuijpers: figs. 1 and 4; ARUNJEYAKUMAR: fig.1), it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to combine the teachings of Kuijpers with the smart lubricating system as taught by ARUNJEYAKUMAR for the purpose that the lubrication is switched off when the device is not operating in order to avoid waste and build-up of lubricant being pumped into the device while the latter is not operating (Kuijpers: [0003]).
With respect to claim 7, ARUNJEYAKUMAR and Kuijpers combined teaches the lubricator control system including a user terminal (ARUNJEYAKUMAR: terminals of Mobile phone and/or computer Applications, fig.1; See also ip.com version under document description and document claims sections at p.2-3 for further detailed teachings of the lubricators communicating to and from mobile phone and/or computer applications via LoRa gateway, LoRaWan server/network and IoT platform), wherein the application server is configured to send the target information to the user terminal (ARUNJEYAKUMAR: LoRaWan network server send information to mobile phone and/or computer applications, fig.1 and See also the ip.com version under document description and document claims sections at p.2-3).
Pertinent Art Cited
The following US Patent Applications and/or NPL references reveal the current state of the art:
Hu et al. (CN-210069438-U) teaches a lubricator control system (figs.1-3) comprising: a lubricator (lubricator, figs.1-3); a LoRa gateway (LoRa gateway, page 4); an Internet of Things platform, wherein the Internet of Things platform includes a network server (IoT server, pages 3-4); wherein the lubricator is configured to communicate with the application server in a long-distance and low-power consumption wireless communication mode, wherein the lubricator is configured to communicate with the Internet of Things platform based on a LoRaWan communication protocol (the wireless communication module can be LoRa (Long Range Radio) low power consumption wireless communication module, LoRa low-power-consumption wireless communication module is integrated with LoRa radio frequency chip and a microprocessor, page 3) and to send target information to the LoRa gateway, wherein the LoRa gateway is configured to forward the target information to the Internet of Things platform, wherein the Internet of Things platform is configured to send the target information to the application server, wherein the application server is configured to receive the target information and to send corresponding target response information to the Internet of Things platform, wherein the Internet of Things platform is configured to send the target response information to the LoRa gateway, and wherein the LoRa gateway is configured to forward the target response information to the lubricator (control system to be analyzed and processed, and then sends the control instruction to the lubricator of the low-power-consumption wireless communication module 42, a function control by the control module of the lubricator 43 finish the lubricator, page 6).
Bishop et al. (US 2022/0196141-A1) teaches a lubricator control system (figs.1-3) comprising: a lubricator (lubrication source 62, fig.3 and [0032]); a network server (cloud server system 40, fig.1); and a computer (hub computer 20, fig.1), wherein the lubricator is configured to communicate with the computer (fig.1 and [0032-0033]). Bishop further teaches transmitting data to a control device via LoRaWAN technology ([0012]).
Zhang et al. (CN-114001267-A) teaches a lubricator control system (fig.1 and page 2) comprising: a lubricator (TLDD lubricator, page 2); a gateway (gateway, page 2); an Internet of Things platform, wherein the Internet of Things platform includes a network server (internet of things server, page 2); and an application server (remote client application configured with a device intelligent lubrication management platform, using ZETA internet of things technology, page 2); wherein the lubricator is configured to communicate with the application server (figs.1-2) in a long-distance and low-power consumption wireless communication mode (Zeta internet of things has low power consumption, large connection and wide coverage, page 3).
Nonetheless, the prior arts of record as cited above individually or in combination does not teach at least:
“wherein the target information includes lubricator registration request information, wherein the lubricator registration request information includes lubricator identification data, wherein the lubricator is configured to send the lubricator registration request information to the LoRa gateway, wherein the Internet of Things platform is configured to send the lubricator registration request information to the application server, wherein the target response information includes registration response information, wherein the application server is configured to receive the lubricator registration request information and to send corresponding registration response information to the Internet of Things platform, wherein the Internet of Things platform is configured to send the registration response information to the LoRa gateway, and wherein the LoRa gateway is configured to forward the registration response information to the lubricator”,
“wherein the target information includes alarm information generated while the lubricator performs a periodic oil filling task, wherein the lubricator is configured to wake up from the sleep state when a periodic oil filling time for the periodic oil filling task is reached, wherein the lubricator is configured to generate alarm information and to send the alarm information to the LoRa gateway when the lubricator is in an abnormal oil filling state, and wherein the LoRa gateway is configured to send the alarm information to the Internet of Things platform”, or
“wherein the application server is configured to send target configuration command information together with the target response information to the Internet of Things platform when receiving the target information from the lubricator, wherein the Internet of Things platform is configured to send the target configuration command information and the target response information to the LoRa gateway, wherein the LoRa gateway is configured to forward the target configuration command information and the target response information to the lubricator, wherein the lubricator is configured to generate corresponding target configuration command response information, and to send the target configuration command response information to the LoRa gateway, wherein the LoRa gateway is configured to forward the target configuration command response information to the Internet of Things platform, wherein the Internet of Things platform is configured to send the target configuration command response information to the application server, and wherein the lubricator is configured to perform a corresponding target operation based on the target configuration command information, and to enter a sleep state after performing the target operation”.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 11-15 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims and to further overcome the claim objections as set forth above.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: The prior art of record, taken alone or in combination, fails to disclose or render obvious, which makes the following claims allowable over the prior art:
With respect to claim 11, wherein the target information includes lubricator registration request information, wherein the lubricator registration request information includes lubricator identification data, wherein the lubricator is configured to send the lubricator registration request information to the LoRa gateway, wherein the Internet of Things platform is configured to send the lubricator registration request information to the application server, wherein the target response information includes registration response information, wherein the application server is configured to receive the lubricator registration request information and to send corresponding registration response information to the Internet of Things platform, wherein the Internet of Things platform is configured to send the registration response information to the LoRa gateway, and wherein the LoRa gateway is configured to forward the registration response information to the lubricator.
With respect to claim 12, wherein the target information includes alarm information generated while the lubricator performs a periodic oil filling task, wherein the lubricator is configured to wake up from the sleep state when a periodic oil filling time for the periodic oil filling task is reached, wherein the lubricator is configured to generate alarm information and to send the alarm information to the LoRa gateway when the lubricator is in an abnormal oil filling state, and wherein the LoRa gateway is configured to send the alarm information to the Internet of Things platform.
With respect to claim 15, wherein the application server is configured to send target configuration command information together with the target response information to the Internet of Things platform when receiving the target information from the lubricator, wherein the Internet of Things platform is configured to send the target configuration command information and the target response information to the LoRa gateway, wherein the LoRa gateway is configured to forward the target configuration command information and the target response information to the lubricator, wherein the lubricator is configured to generate corresponding target configuration command response information, and to send the target configuration command response information to the LoRa gateway, wherein the LoRa gateway is configured to forward the target configuration command response information to the Internet of Things platform, wherein the Internet of Things platform is configured to send the target configuration command response information to the application server, and wherein the lubricator is configured to perform a corresponding target operation based on the target configuration command information, and to enter a sleep state after performing the target operation.
Claims 13-14 are allowed due to their dependencies on claim 12.
Claims 3, 5-6, and 8-10 would be allowed if overcome the claim objections as set forth above.
The primary reason for the allowance of claim 3 is that the prior art of record, taken alone or in combination, fails to disclose or render obvious the subject matter of:
“A lubricator control system comprising:
a lubricator;
a Long Range (LoRa) gateway;
an Internet of Things platform, wherein the Internet of Things platform includes a network server; and
an application server;
wherein the lubricator is configured to communicate with the application server in a long-distance and low-power consumption wireless communication mode,
wherein the lubricator is configured to communicate with the Internet of Things platform based on a Long Range Wide Area Network (LoRaWan) communication protocol and to send target information to the LoRa gateway,
wherein the LoRa gateway is configured to forward the target information to the Internet of Things platform,
wherein the Internet of Things platform is configured to send the target information to the application server,
wherein the application server is configured to receive the target information and to send corresponding target response information to the Internet of Things platform,
wherein the Internet of Things platform is configured to send the target response information to the LoRa gateway,
wherein the LoRa gateway is configured to forward the target response information to the lubricator,
wherein the target information includes lubricator registration request information,
wherein the lubricator registration request information includes lubricator identification data,
wherein the lubricator is configured to send the lubricator registration request information to the LoRa gateway,
wherein the Internet of Things platform is configured to send the lubricator registration request information to the application server,
wherein the target response information includes registration response information,
wherein the application server is configured to receive the lubricator registration request information and to send corresponding registration response information to the Internet of Things platform,
wherein the Internet of Things platform is configured to send the registration response information to the LoRa gateway, and
wherein the LoRa gateway is configured to forward the registration response information to the lubricator.”
The primary reason for the allowance of claim 5 is that the prior art of record, taken alone or in combination, fails to disclose or render obvious the subject matter of:
“A lubricator control system comprising:
a lubricator;
a Long Range (LoRa) gateway;
an Internet of Things platform, wherein the Internet of Things platform includes a network server; and
an application server;
wherein the lubricator is configured to communicate with the application server in a long- distance and low-power consumption wireless communication mode,
wherein the lubricator is configured to communicate with the Internet of Things platform based on a Long Range Wide Area Network (LoRaWan) communication protocol and to send target information to the LoRa gateway,
wherein the LoRa gateway is configured to forward the target information to the Internet of Things platform,
wherein the Internet of Things platform is configured to send the target information to the application server,
wherein the application server is configured to receive the target information and to send corresponding target response information to the Internet of Things platform,
wherein the Internet of Things platform is configured to send the target response information to the LoRa gateway,
wherein the LoRa gateway is configured to forward the target response information to the lubricator,
wherein the lubricator is configured to switch to a sleep state after receiving the target response information,
wherein the target information includes alarm information generated while the lubricator performs a periodic oil filling task,
wherein the lubricator is configured to wake up from the sleep state when a periodic oil filling time for the periodic oil filling task is reached,
wherein the lubricator is configured to generate alarm information and to send the alarm information to the LoRa gateway when the lubricator is in an abnormal oil filling state, and
wherein the LoRa gateway is configured to send the alarm information to the Internet of Things platform.”
The primary reason for the allowance of claim 8 is that the prior art of record, taken alone or in combination, fails to disclose or render obvious the subject matter of:
“A lubricator control system comprising:
a lubricator;
a Long Range (LoRa) gateway;
an Internet of Things platform, wherein the Internet of Things platform includes a network server; and
an application server;
wherein the lubricator is configured to communicate with the application server in a long- distance and low-power consumption wireless communication mode,
wherein the lubricator is configured to communicate with the Internet of Things platform based on a Long Range Wide Area Network (LoRaWan) communication protocol and to send target information to the LoRa gateway,
wherein the LoRa gateway is configured to forward the target information to the Internet of Things platform,
wherein the Internet of Things platform is configured to send the target information to the application server,
wherein the application server is configured to receive the target information and to send corresponding target response information to the Internet of Things platform,
wherein the Internet of Things platform is configured to send the target response information to the LoRa gateway,
wherein the LoRa gateway is configured to forward the target response information to the lubricator,
wherein the application server is configured to send target configuration command information together with the target response information to the Internet of Things platform when receiving the target information from the lubricator,
wherein the Internet of Things platform is configured to send the target configuration command information and the target response information to the LoRa gateway,
wherein the LoRa gateway is configured to forward the target configuration command information and the target response information to the lubricator,
wherein the lubricator is configured to generate corresponding target configuration command response information, and to send the target configuration command response information to the LoRa gateway,
wherein the LoRa gateway is configured to forward the target configuration command response information to the Internet of Things platform,
wherein the Internet of Things platform is configured to send the target configuration command response information to the application server, and
wherein the lubricator is configured to perform a corresponding target operation based on the target configuration command information, and to enter a sleep state after performing the target operation.”
Claims 6, 9, and 10 are allowed due to their dependencies on claims 3, 5 and 8 respectively.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to HIEN (CINDY) D KHUU whose telephone number is (571)272-8585. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday 8a-8p.
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/HIEN D KHUU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2116 July 29, 2026
1 Attached PTO-892 includes two different translations for reference IN-20214036204-A. See ip.com version under document description and document claims sections at p.2-3 for further detailed teachings of the lubricators communicating to and from mobile phone and/or computer applications via LoRa gateway, LoRaWAN server/network and IoT platform.
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