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 Objections
Claims 1-18 are pending.
Claims 2, 8 and 14 are amended.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1-18 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
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.
Claims 1-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over NEC Corporation WO2022044203 (hereinafter “NEC”) in view of Den Boer et al US9109944 (hereinafter “Den”).
Regarding claim 1, NEC discloses a signal processing apparatus (Abstract, See Figs 1-4) comprising:
at least one memory (memory-4) configured to store instructions; and
at least one processor (Units 1-3 and 6-8 in Fig 2) configured to execute the instructions to:
acquire signals measured by a signal measurement apparatus (Sensor-11 and means 12-13, See Fig 1) at a plurality of points located along an optical fiber (fiber-51); and
determine whether there is an event (detects an abnormality within the structure such as a pothole) based on a degree of similarity between the spectral center (Appendix 4) measured at adjacent points (Observation points A-C) (See Fig 3A-4).
However, NEC fails to disclose determination based on a degree of similarity between the signals measured at different points. Den discloses determination based on a degree of similarity between the signals measured at different points (Optical fiber -1, See Figs 1-7) (See claim 1 and abstract).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to include the design of Den into NEC for the purpose of increasing detection accuracy. The modification would allow for comparing multiple signal data points to ensure results are accurate.
Regarding claim 2, NEC discloses the at least one processor (Units 1-3 and 6-8 in Fig 2) is further configured to execute the instructions to:
generate, for each of the plurality of points (observation points A-C), a set including a point where a degree of similarity between a spectral center at the point and a spectral center at a target point is to be calculated (See Fig 3A-4 and Fig 12 which discloses determining similarity between a target observation point and a observation point in the vicinity of the target observation point);
calculate, for each of the plurality of points, a degree of similarity between the spectral center at a target point and a signal at the point included in the set in which the target point is included (Claim 1, Appendix 10); and
determine, for each of the plurality of points, whether there is an event (detects an abnormality within the structure such as a pothole) based on the degree of similarity between the spectral center at a target point and a spectral center at an adjacent point that is adjacent to the target point (See Fig 3A-4).
However, NEC fails to disclose determination and generating based on a degree of similarity between the signals measured at different points. Den discloses determination and generating based on a degree of similarity between the signals measured at different points (Optical fiber -1, See Figs 1-7) (See claim 1 and abstract).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to include the design of Den into NEC for the purpose of increasing detection accuracy. The modification would allow for comparing multiple signal data points to ensure results are accurate.
Regarding claim 3, NEC in view of Den disclose the apparatus according to claim 2.
Furthermore, NEC discloses the at least one processor (Units 1-3 and 6-8 in Fig 2) is further configured to execute the instructions to select, for each of the plurality of points , an adjacent point that is adjacent to a target point, and include the selected adjacent point in the set in which the target point is included (See Fig 3A-4 Fig 12, Appendix 10 and claims 1-3, which discloses determining similarity between a target observation point and a observation point in the vicinity of the target observation point).
Regarding claim 4, NEC in view of Den disclose the apparatus according to claim 3.
Furthermore, NEC discloses the signal measurement apparatus (Sensor-11 and means 12-13, See Fig 1) is an apparatus configured to handle a signal measured at any gauge length as a signal at one point (observation points A-C), and the at least one processor (Units 1-3 and 6-8 in Fig 2) is further configured to execute the instructions to include in the set in which the target point is included, for each of the plurality of points, a point located within a range of a predetermined number times the gauge length from the target point. (See Fig 3A-4 Fig 12, Appendix 10)
Regarding claim 5, NEC in view of Den disclose the apparatus according to claim 3.
Furthermore, NEC discloses the at least one processor (Units 1-3 and 6-8 in Fig 2) is further configured to execute the instructions to include in the set in which the target point (observation points A-C), is included, for each of the plurality of points (observation points A-C),, a point located within a range of a predetermined distance from the target point. (See Fig 3A-4 Fig 12, Appendix 10)
Regarding claim 6, NEC discloses the at least one processor (Units 1-3 and 6-8 in Fig 2) is further configured to execute the instructions to: perform signal processing on the signal acquired by a signal acquisition unit (Sensor-11 and means 12-13, See Fig 1); and calculate (detects an abnormality within the structure such as a pothole) a degree of similarity between the spectral center (Appendix 4) that have been subjected to the signal processing (See Fig 3A-4).
However, NEC fails to disclose determination based on a degree of similarity between the signals measured at different points. Den discloses determination based on a degree of similarity between the signals measured at different points (Optical fiber -1, See Figs 1-7) (See Appendix 1-11,claim 1 and abstract).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to include the design of Den into NEC for the purpose of increasing detection accuracy. The modification would allow for comparing multiple signal data points to ensure results are accurate.
Regarding claim 7, NEC discloses a signal processing method executed by a signal processing apparatus (Units 1-3 and 6-8 in Fig 2 process signals from Sensor-11 and means-12-13), the signal processing method comprising:
a signal acquisition step of acquiring signals measured by a signal measurement apparatus (Sensor-11 and means 12-13, See Fig 1) at a plurality of points (Observation points A-C) (See Fig 3A-4) located along an optical fiber (fiber-51); and
a determination step of determining whether there is an event (detects an abnormality within the structure such as a pothole) based on a degree of similarity between the spectral center (Appendix 4) measured at adjacent points (See Fig 3A-4).
However, NEC fails to disclose determination based on a degree of similarity between the signals measured at different points. Den discloses determination based on a degree of similarity between the signals measured at different points (Optical fiber -1, See Figs 1-7) (See claim 1 and abstract).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to include the design of Den into NEC for the purpose of increasing detection accuracy. The modification would allow for comparing multiple signal data points to ensure results are accurate.
Regarding claim 8, NEC discloses the determination step comprises:
a set generation step of generating, for each of the plurality of points (observation points A-C), a set including a point where a degree of similarity between a spectral center at the point and a spectral center at a target point is to be calculated (See Fig 3A-4 and Fig 12 which discloses determining similarity between a target observation point and a observation point in the vicinity of the target observation point);
a degree of similarity calculation step of calculating, for each of the plurality of points, a degree of similarity between the spectral center at a target point and a spectral center at the point included in the set in which the target point is included (Claim 1, Appendix 10); and
an event (detects an abnormality within the structure such as a pothole) determination step of determining, for each of the plurality of points, whether there is an event based on the degree of similarity between the signal at a target point and a signal at an adjacent point that is adjacent to the target point (See Fig 3A-4).
However, NEC fails to disclose determination and generating based on a degree of similarity between the signals measured at different points. Den discloses determination and generating based on a degree of similarity between the signals measured at different points (Optical fiber -1, See Figs 1-7) (See claim 1 and abstract).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to include the design of Den into NEC for the purpose of increasing detection accuracy. The modification would allow for comparing multiple signal data points to ensure results are accurate.
Regarding claim 9, NEC in view of Den disclose the method according to claim 8.
Furthermore, NEC discloses in the set generation step, for each of the plurality of points (observation points A-C), an adjacent point that is adjacent to a target point is selected, and the selected adjacent point is included in the set in which the target point is included (See Fig 3A-4 Fig 12, Appendix 10 and claims 1-3, which discloses determining similarity between a target observation point and a observation point in the vicinity of the target observation point).
Regarding claim 10, NEC in view of Den disclose the method according to claim 9.
Furthermore, NEC discloses the signal measurement apparatus (Sensor-11 and means 12-13, See Fig 1) is an apparatus configured to handle a signal measured at any gauge length as a signal at one point (observation points A-C), and in the set generation step, for each of the plurality of points, a point located within a range of a predetermined number times the gauge length from the target point is included in the set in which the target point is included. (See Fig 3A-4 Fig 12, Appendix 10)
Regarding claim 11, NEC in view of Den disclose the method according to claim 9.
Furthermore, NEC discloses in the set generation step (Units 1-3 and 6-8 in Fig 2), for each of the plurality of points (observation points A-C), a point located within a range of a predetermined distance from the target point is included in the set in which the target point is included (See Fig 3A-4 Fig 12, Appendix 10).
Regarding claim 12, NEC discloses in the degree of similarity calculation step, signal processing (Units 1-3 and 6-8 in Fig 2) is performed on the spectral center acquired by the signal acquisition step (Sensor-11 and means 12-13, See Fig 1), and a degree of similarity between the spectral center that have been subjected to the signal processing is calculated (detects an abnormality within the structure such as a pothole). (See Appendix 4, Figs 3A-4)
However, NEC fails to disclose determination based on a degree of similarity between the signals measured at different points. Den discloses determination based on a degree of similarity between the signals measured at different points (Optical fiber -1, See Figs 1-7) (See Appendix 1-11,claim 1 and abstract).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to include the design of Den into NEC for the purpose of increasing detection accuracy. The modification would allow for comparing multiple signal data points to ensure results are accurate.
Regarding claim 13, NEC discloses a non-transitory computer readable medium (Memory-4) storing a program for causing a computer (Units 1-3 and 6-8 in Fig 2) to execute (Abstract, See Figs 1-4):
a signal acquisition procedure for acquiring signals measured by a signal measurement apparatus (Sensor-11 and means 12-13, See Fig 1) at a plurality of points (observation points A-C) located along an optical fiber (fiber-51); and
a determination procedure (appendix 4) for determining whether there is an event (detects an abnormality within the structure such as a pothole) based on a degree of similarity between the spectral center measured at adjacent points (Observation points A-C) (See Fig 3A-4).
However, NEC fails to disclose determination based on a degree of similarity between the signals measured at different points. Den discloses determination based on a degree of similarity between the signals measured at different points (Optical fiber -1, See Figs 1-7) (See claim 1 and abstract).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to include the design of Den into NEC for the purpose of increasing detection accuracy. The modification would allow for comparing multiple signal data points to ensure results are accurate.
Regarding claim 14, NEC discloses the determination procedure (Units 1-3 and 6-8 in Fig 2) comprises:
a set generation procedure for generating, for each of the plurality of points (observation points A-C), a set including a point where a degree of similarity between a spectral center at the point and a spectral center at a target point is to be calculated (See Fig 3A-4 and Fig 12 which discloses determining similarity between a target observation point and an observation point in the vicinity of the target observation point);
a degree of similarity calculation procedure for calculating, for each of the plurality of points, a degree of similarity between the spectral center at a target point and a spectral center at the point included in the set in which the target point is included (Claim 1, Appendix 10); and
an event determination procedure for determining, for each of the plurality of points, whether there is an event (detects an abnormality within the structure such as a pothole) based on the degree of similarity between the spectral center at a target point and a spectral center at an adjacent point that is adjacent to the target point. (See Fig 3A-4).
However, NEC fails to disclose determination and generating based on a degree of similarity between the signals measured at different points. Den discloses determination and generating based on a degree of similarity between the signals measured at different points (Optical fiber -1, See Figs 1-7) (See claim 1 and abstract).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to include the design of Den into NEC for the purpose of increasing detection accuracy. The modification would allow for comparing multiple signal data points to ensure results are accurate.
Regarding claim 15, NEC in view of Den disclose the medium according to claim 14.
Furthermore, NEC discloses in the set generation procedure, for each of the plurality of points (observation points A-C), an adjacent point that is adjacent to a target point is selected, and the selected adjacent point is included in the set in which the target point is included (See Fig 3A-4 Fig 12, Appendix 10 and claims 1-3).
Regarding claim 16, NEC in view of Den disclose the medium according to claim 15.
Furthermore, NEC discloses the signal measurement apparatus (Sensor-11 and means 12-13, See Fig 1) is an apparatus configured to handle a signal measured at any gauge length as a signal at one point (observation points A-C), and in the set generation procedure (Units 1-3 and 6-8 in Fig 2), for each of the plurality of points, a point located within a range of a predetermined number times the gauge length from the target point is included in the set in which the target point is included (See Fig 3A-4 Fig 12, Appendix 10),
Regarding claim 17, NEC in view of Den disclose the medium according to claim 15.
Furthermore, NEC discloses in the set generation procedure (Units 1-3 and 6-8 in Fig 2),, for each of the plurality of points (observation points A-C), a point located within a range of a predetermined distance from the target point is included in the set in which the target point is included (See Fig 3A-4 Fig 12, Appendix 10).
Regarding claim 18, NEC discloses in the degree of similarity calculation procedure (Units 1-3 and 6-8 in Fig 2), signal processing is performed on the signal acquired by the signal acquisition procedure (Sensor-11 and means 12-13, See Fig 1), and a degree of similarity between the spectral center (Appendix 4) that have been subjected to the signal processing is calculated. (See Fig 3A-4).
However, NEC fails to disclose determination based on a degree of similarity between the signals measured at different points. Den discloses determination based on a degree of similarity between the signals measured at different points (Optical fiber -1, See Figs 1-7) (See Appendix 1-11,claim 1 and abstract).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to include the design of Den into NEC for the purpose of increasing detection accuracy. The modification would allow for comparing multiple signal data points to ensure results are accurate.
Conclusion
The prior art as cited on the PTO-892 is made of record and not relied upon but considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NIGEL H PLUMB whose telephone number is (571)272-8886. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 7am-5pm.
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, John Breene can be reached at 571-272-4107. 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 (USA or CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/NIGEL H PLUMB/Examiner, Art Unit 2855
/Eric S. McCall/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2855
Prosecution Insights