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 .
Priority
Examiner acknowledges no foreign priority is claimed.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement(s) (IDS) submitted on 1/17/2024, 7/23/2024 and 10/25/2024 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement(s) is/are being considered if signed and initialed by the Examiner.
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 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.
For applicant’s benefit portions of the cited reference(s) have been cited to aid in the review of the rejection(s). While every attempt has been made to be thorough and consistent within the rejection it is noted that the PRIOR ART MUST BE CONSIDERED IN ITS ENTIRETY, INCLUDING DISCLOSURES THAT TEACH AWAY FROM THE CLAIMS. See MPEP 2141.02 VI.
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 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 1-4 and 6-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bergman (US 2018/0193694 A1), and further in view of Alonso et al. (US 2021/0248027 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Bergman (‘694) discloses “a system for monitoring athletic equipment (paragraph 9: a system for determining a position of one or more pieces of athletic equipment on an athletic playing surface; paragraph 10: a wearable location tag system includes a wearable article comprising a shoe or kneepad worn by a football player and one or more RFID chips incorporated into the wearable article and configured to produce and transmit an radio-frequency RF signal therefrom; paragraph 11: an athletic ball includes an outer layer and one or more RFID chips embedded in the athletic ball under the outer layer and configured to produce and transmit an radio-frequency RF signal therefrom; paragraphs 23: an RFID tag is incorporated in a ball or in piece of athletic equipment worn by a player, in order to identify the location of the ball or equipment on the field or court. an associated monitoring system is arranged on the field or court that interact with the RFID tag to provide for such location identification), comprising:
a plurality of antennae positioned around edges of a field, wherein each antenna is configured and adapted to read radio frequency identifications (RFID) within a defined zone (paragraphs 9: an array of sensors positioned on or in proximity to the athletic playing surface and configured to receive RF signals from the RFID chip of each of the one or more pieces of athletic equipment; paragraph 10: a wearable location tag system includes a wearable article comprising a shoe or kneepad worn by a football player and one or more RFID chips incorporated into the wearable article and configured to produce and transmit an radio-frequency RF signal therefrom; paragraph 11: an athletic ball includes an outer layer and one or more RFID chips embedded in the athletic ball under the outer layer and configured to produce and transmit an radio-frequency RF signal therefrom. Each of the one or more RFID chips comprises an electronic circuit that includes a processor configured to store data, instructions, and programs thereon, including timing instructions for generating RF signals to be transmitted, and a transceiver and antenna operably connected to the processor to send and receive RF signals to exchange information and data with one or more remote outside sensors incorporated into an athletic playing surface. Interaction of the one or more RFID chips with the one or more remote outside sensors enables determination of a position of the athletic ball on the athletic playing surface; paragraphs 23: the use of RFID-based location identification in athletic equipment and athletic playing fields in various sporting events…an RFID tag is incorporated in a ball or in piece of athletic equipment worn by a player, in order to identify the location of the ball or equipment on the field or court…an associated monitoring system is arranged on the field or court that interact with the RFID tag to provide for such location identification…based on the identified location of the ball or piece of athletic equipment, events of interest within the game can be determined/identified—such as a player or ball contacting an out-of-bounds boundary or particular line/marker on the field);
an RFID tag attached to an article of athletic equipment (paragraphs 23: RFID tag is incorporated in a ball or in piece of athletic equipment worn by a player; paragraph 27: Figure 1: the RFID tag circuits 18 can be applied as a patch or a layer at desired locations about or within the football 10 including on the inner or outer surface of the cover 12, within the cover 12, on or within the bladder 14 or within other layers such as winding layers, linings, and padding layers); and
a computer in communication with each antenna of the plurality of antennae, the computer being configured and adapted to process a signal from one or more antenna of the plurality of antenna in connection with the database to determine a position of the RFID tag (paragraph 9: a processing system operably connected to the array of sensors to receive data from the array of sensors, the processing system programmed to process the data from the array of sensors to determine a position of each of the one or more pieces of athletic equipment on the athletic playing surface; paragraph 10: each of the one or more RFID chips comprises an electronic circuit that includes a processor configured to store data, instructions, and programs thereon, including timing instructions for generating RF signals to be transmitted, and a transceiver and antenna operably connected to the processor to send and receive RF signals to exchange information and data with one or more remote outside sensors incorporated into a football field… interaction of the one or more RFID chips with the one or more remote outside sensors enables determination of a position of the wearable article on the football field; paragraph 11: each of the one or more RFID chips comprises an electronic circuit that includes a processor configured to store data, instructions, and programs thereon, including timing instructions for generating RF signals to be transmitted, and a transceiver and antenna operably connected to the processor to send and receive RF signals to exchange information and data with one or more remote outside sensors incorporated into an athletic playing surface… interaction of the one or more RFID chips with the one or more remote outside sensors enables determination of a position of the athletic ball on the athletic playing surface; paragraph 29: the memory 26 is operably associated with the processor 22 and is used to store data, instructions, programs, and files…the memory 26 can include read only memory and random access memory).”
Bergman (‘694) does not explicitly disclose “the computer being preprogramed with a database defining dimensions of the field.”
Alonso et al. (‘027) relates to locating movement of objects. Alonso et al. (‘027) teaches “the computer being preprogramed with a database defining dimensions of the field (paragraph 12: creating a raw data file and causing the raw data file to be stored in a data storage…determining a unit of work, wherein the unit of work comprises the tag location data for a predetermined period of time, and the creating a multidimensional player location per unit time is based on the determined unit of work…creating a filtered data file and causing the filter data file to be stored in a data storage; paragraph 143: automatic recognition of formations, plays, and events through the processing of real time data (or near real time data) regarding location, change in location, velocity, change in acceleration, orientation, or the like, for participants based on an analysis of relevant models and data; paragraph 195: a Geographical Information System or similar monitored area database may be used to associate location data; paragraph 364: Stadium or other area location registration data may include the registration data specific to reference tags (e.g. reference tags 104 as shown in Figure 1), down markers, field markers, health tags, or the like at a specified location…certain objects may be determined to be a in a fixed location and thus would not need to be shared outside of a particular location registration data, data store, or the like…stadium registration data may be stored in the local data storage 514…copy of the stadium registration data may be uploaded, received, and/or synchronized by the registration database 544 after each manipulation).”
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 system of Bergman (‘694) with the teaching of Alonso et al. (‘027) monitoring athletic equipment more reliably (Alonso et al. (‘027) – paragraphs 3-4). In addition, both of the prior art references, (Bergman (‘694) and Alonso et al. (‘027)) teach features that are directed to analogous art and they are directed to the same field of endeavor, such as for providing collecting and analyzing sporting event data based on real time data for proximity and movement of objects.
Regarding claim 2, which is dependent on independent claim 1, Bergman (‘694)/Alonso et al. (‘027) discloses the system of claim 1. Bergman (‘694) further discloses “the RFID tag is embedded within a sports ball (paragraph 46: an athletic ball includes an outer layer and one or more RFID chips embedded in the athletic ball under the outer layer and configured to produce and transmit an radio-frequency RF signal therefrom).”
Regarding claim 3, which is dependent on claim 2, Bergman (‘694)/Alonso et al. (‘027) discloses the system of claim 2. Bergman (‘694) further discloses “the sports ball is a football (paragraph 15: Figure 1: a football that incorporates an electronic chip/RFID tag circuit; paragraph 25: Figure 1: football 10).”
Regarding claim 4, which is dependent on claim 3, Bergman (‘694)/Alonso et al. (‘027) discloses the system of claim 3. Bergman (‘694) further discloses “the RFID tag is integrated into a stamped marking (paragraph 27: the RFID tag circuits 18 can be applied as a patch or a layer at desired locations about or within the football 10 including on the inner or outer surface of the cover 12, within the cover 12, on or within the bladder 14 or within other layers such as winding layers, linings, and padding layers…an RFID tag circuit 18 can also be advantageously positioned beneath the lacing 16 for additional protection and positioning away from the kicking region of the football 10; paragraph 28: As shown in FIG. 1, in an exemplary embodiment, a plurality of RFID tag circuits 18 are included in the football 10 at locations generally corresponding to the ends of the football and each of four sides of the football 10).”1
Regarding claim 6, which is dependent on claim 2, Bergman (‘694)/Alonso et al. (‘027) discloses the system of claim 2. Bergman (‘694) further discloses “the computer is programmed to determine whether any portion of the football crosses a specified demarcation line (paragraph 5: whether the football crossed the goal line of the end zone during a play, or whether a player's forward progress with the football during a play passed the first down marker on the field of play; paragraph 23: RFID tag is incorporated in a ball or in piece of athletic equipment worn by a player, in order to identify the location of the ball or equipment on the field or court. An associated monitoring system is arranged on the field or court that interact with the RFID tag to provide for such location identification…based on the identified location of the ball or piece of athletic equipment, events of interest within the game can be determined/identified—such as a player or ball contacting an out-of-bounds boundary or particular line/marker on the field; paragraph 28: as shown in Figure 1, in an exemplary embodiment, a plurality of RFID tag circuits 18 are included in the football 10 at locations generally corresponding to the ends of the football and each of four sides of the football 10…positioning of the tag circuits 18 at such locations allows for a sensing of each end and surface of the football, which is desirable in determining where the nose of the ball is positioned on a field, as well as sides of the ball—which may be necessary in determining if the ball has crossed the goal line during play, has reached a first down marker, etc.; paragraph 35: Based on the identified location of the ball 10 or piece of athletic equipment 36, 38, events of interest within the game can be determined/identified—such as a player or ball contacting an out-of-bounds boundary or particular line/marker on the field 52).”
Regarding claim 7, which is dependent on claim 6, Bergman (‘694)/Alonso et al. (‘027) discloses the system of claim 6. Bergman (‘694)/Alonso et al. (‘027) does not explicitly disclose “the computer is programmed to receive geometric dimensions of the football and positional information of the RFID with respect to the geometric dimensions of the football.”
Alonso et al. (‘027) relates to locating movement of objects. Alonso et al. (‘027) teaches “the computer is programmed to receive geometric dimensions of the football and positional information of the RFID with respect to the geometric dimensions of the football (paragraph 2; paragraphs 5-15; paragraphs 188-195; paragraphs 320-321; paragraphs 365-366; paragraphs 477-485).”
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 system of Bergman (‘694) with the teaching of Alonso et al. (‘027) monitoring athletic equipment more reliably (Alonso et al. (‘027) – paragraphs 3-4). In addition, both of the prior art references, (Bergman (‘694) and Alonso et al. (‘027)) teach features that are directed to analogous art and they are directed to the same field of endeavor, such as for providing collecting and analyzing sporting event data based on real time data for proximity and movement of objects.
Regarding claim 8, which is dependent on independent claim 1, Bergman (‘694)/Alonso et al. (‘027) discloses the system of claim 1. Bergman (‘694) further discloses data “derived from global positioning system (GPS) data of the field (paragraph 34: The system 50 can be configured to detect movement of a football 10 and/or equipment 36, 38 on the football field 52 to within the nearest 10 millimeters…the electronic chip can include a GPS transmitter, receiver and/or transceiver)”. Bergman (‘694)/Alonso et al. (‘027) does not explicitly disclose “the database includes a plurality of JSON objects data of the field.”
Alonso et al. (‘027) relates to locating movement of objects. Alonso et al. (‘027) teaches “the database includes a plurality of JSON objects derived from global positioning system (GPS) data of the field (paragraph 366: JSON format; paragraph 365: local data storage 514…database 544; paragraph 12: creating a raw data file and causing the raw data file to be stored in a data storage…determining a unit of work, wherein the unit of work comprises the tag location data for a predetermined period of time, and the creating a multidimensional player location per unit time is based on the determined unit of work…creating a filtered data file and causing the filter data file to be stored in a data storage; paragraph 143: automatic recognition of formations, plays, and events through the processing of real time data (or near real time data) regarding location, change in location, velocity, change in acceleration, orientation, or the like, for participants based on an analysis of relevant models and data; paragraph 195: a Geographical Information System or similar monitored area database may be used to associate location data).”
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 system of Bergman (‘694) with the teaching of Alonso et al. (‘027) monitoring athletic equipment more reliably (Alonso et al. (‘027) – paragraphs 3-4). In addition, both of the prior art references, (Bergman (‘694) and Alonso et al. (‘027)) teach features that are directed to analogous art and they are directed to the same field of endeavor, such as for providing collecting and analyzing sporting event data based on real time data for proximity and movement of objects.
Regarding claim 9, which is dependent on independent claim 1, Bergman (‘694)/Alonso et al. (‘027) discloses the system of claim 1. Bergman (‘694) further discloses “the computer is configured and adapted to collect and combine data from the plurality of antennae (paragraph 27: the RFID tag circuits 18 can be applied as a patch or a layer at desired locations about or within the football 10 including on the inner or outer surface of the cover 12, within the cover 12, on or within the bladder 14 or within other layers such as winding layers, linings, and padding layers. An RFID tag circuit 18 can also be advantageously positioned beneath the lacing 16 for additional protection and positioning away from the kicking region of the football 10; paragraph 28: As shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of RFID tag circuits 18 are included in the football 10 at locations generally corresponding to the ends of the football and each of four sides of the football 10).”
Bergman (‘694)/Alonso et al. (‘027) does not explicitly disclose “a display including an event dashboard.”
Alonso et al. (‘027) relates to locating movement of objects. Alonso et al. (‘027) teaches “a display including an event dashboard ((paragraph 485: the visualization engine 314/517 may be configured to cause at least one display element (i.e., dashboard) to be displayed via an interface…as shown in FIGS. 44 and 46-49, a display 4400, such as a touch screen display, may be configured to display an interface providing visualizations corresponding to analytic and/or event data, such as sport analytics data. With respect to FIG. 44, a display 4400 may include a plurality of display elements 4402. In some embodiments, the display elements 4402 may comprise an icon form 4404, a graph form 4406, a panel form 4408 and/or the like).”
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 system of Bergman (‘694) with the teaching of Alonso et al. (‘027) monitoring athletic equipment more reliably (Alonso et al. (‘027) – paragraphs 3-4). In addition, both of the prior art references, (Bergman (‘694) and Alonso et al. (‘027)) teach features that are directed to analogous art and they are directed to the same field of endeavor, such as for providing collecting and analyzing sporting event data based on real time data for proximity and movement of objects.
Regarding claim 10, which is dependent on claim 9, Bergman (‘694)/Alonso et al. (‘027) discloses the system of claim 1. Bergman (‘694) further discloses “a plurality of remote computing devices attached to a fixed structure on the field, wherein the plurality of remote computing devices are in electronic communication with each of the plurality of antennae, wherein the plurality of remote computing devices are configurable to respond to an enrolled RFID tag (paragraph 10: each of the one or more RFID chips comprises an electronic circuit that includes a processor configured to store data, instructions, and programs thereon, including timing instructions for generating RF signals to be transmitted, and a transceiver and antenna operably connected to the processor to send and receive RF signals to exchange information and data with one or more remote outside sensors incorporated into a football field. Interaction of the one or more RFID chips with the one or more remote outside sensors enables determination of a position of the wearable article on the football field; paragraph 11: each of the one or more RFID chips comprises an electronic circuit that includes a processor configured to store data, instructions, and programs thereon, including timing instructions for generating RF signals to be transmitted, and a transceiver and antenna operably connected to the processor to send and receive RF signals to exchange information and data with one or more remote outside sensors incorporated into an athletic playing surface. Interaction of the one or more RFID chips with the one or more remote outside sensors enables determination of a position of the athletic ball on the athletic playing surface; paragraphs 23: the use of RFID-based location identification in athletic equipment and athletic playing fields in various sporting events…an RFID tag is incorporated in a ball or in piece of athletic equipment worn by a player, in order to identify the location of the ball or equipment on the field or court…an associated monitoring system is arranged on the field or court that interact with the RFID tag to provide for such location identification…based on the identified location of the ball or piece of athletic equipment, events of interest within the game can be determined/identified—such as a player or ball contacting an out-of-bounds boundary or particular line/marker on the field; paragraph 30: The transceiver 24 can send or receive a signal, such as the electronic signal 20, and to exchange information and data with a remote outside sensor, a receiver, a server, a computer, a network of computers or the Internet…the transmitter 28 and the receiver 30 can also be used to send and receive, respectively, a signal representing information and data for communication with a remote sensor, transmitter, receiver, server, computer, computer network or the Internet).”
Regarding claim 11, which is dependent on independent claim 1, Bergman (‘694)/Alonso et al. (‘027) discloses the system of claim 1. Bergman (‘694) further discloses “the computer is configured and adapted to determine an event, the computer being further configured to provide an output signal based on the event (paragraphs 28: a plurality of RFID tag circuits 18 are included in the football 10 at locations generally corresponding to the ends of the football and each of four sides of the football 10. Positioning of the tag circuits 18 at such locations allows for a sensing of each end and surface of the football, which is desirable in determining where the nose of the ball is positioned on a field, as well as sides of the ball—which may be necessary in determining if the ball has crossed the goal line during play, has reached a first down marker, etc.; paragraph 36: footballs 10 and/or equipment 36, 38 built in accordance with the present invention will thus allow for more information about the game to be available to officials, football league representatives, and fans…the present invention can be used to significantly improve the accuracy and integrity of official's decisions regarding important game issues such as determining whether the football crossed the goal line or a first down marker during a play, the forward progress of the football during a play, the knee of a player making contact with the ground during a play, and/or a player making contact with the out-of-bounds boundary during play…the present invention will enable an official to access such information quickly and easily).”
Regarding independent claim 12, Bergman (‘694) discloses “a system for monitoring athletic equipment (paragraph 9: a system for determining a position of one or more pieces of athletic equipment on an athletic playing surface; paragraph 10: a wearable location tag system includes a wearable article comprising a shoe or kneepad worn by a football player and one or more RFID chips incorporated into the wearable article and configured to produce and transmit an radio-frequency RF signal therefrom; paragraph 11: an athletic ball includes an outer layer and one or more RFID chips embedded in the athletic ball under the outer layer and configured to produce and transmit an radio-frequency RF signal therefrom; paragraphs 23: an RFID tag is incorporated in a ball or in piece of athletic equipment worn by a player, in order to identify the location of the ball or equipment on the field or court. an associated monitoring system is arranged on the field or court that interact with the RFID tag to provide for such location identification), comprising:
a plurality of antennae positioned around edges of a field, wherein each antenna is configured and adapted to read radio frequency identifications (RFID) within a defined zone (paragraphs 9: an array of sensors positioned on or in proximity to the athletic playing surface and configured to receive RF signals from the RFID chip of each of the one or more pieces of athletic equipment; paragraph 10: a wearable location tag system includes a wearable article comprising a shoe or kneepad worn by a football player and one or more RFID chips incorporated into the wearable article and configured to produce and transmit an radio-frequency RF signal therefrom; paragraph 11: an athletic ball includes an outer layer and one or more RFID chips embedded in the athletic ball under the outer layer and configured to produce and transmit an radio-frequency RF signal therefrom… each of the one or more RFID chips comprises an electronic circuit that includes a processor configured to store data, instructions, and programs thereon, including timing instructions for generating RF signals to be transmitted, and a transceiver and antenna operably connected to the processor to send and receive RF signals to exchange information and data with one or more remote outside sensors incorporated into an athletic playing surface. Interaction of the one or more RFID chips with the one or more remote outside sensors enables determination of a position of the athletic ball on the athletic playing surface; paragraph 23: the use of RFID-based location identification in athletic equipment and athletic playing fields in various sporting events…an RFID tag is incorporated in a ball or in piece of athletic equipment worn by a player, in order to identify the location of the ball or equipment on the field or court…an associated monitoring system is arranged on the field or court that interact with the RFID tag to provide for such location identification…based on the identified location of the ball or piece of athletic equipment, events of interest within the game can be determined/identified—such as a player or ball contacting an out-of-bounds boundary or particular line/marker on the field);
a plurality of RFID tags attached to a football, wherein the plurality of RFID tags are positioned along a plurality of outer dimensions of the football (paragraph 27: the electronic chips 18 are thin, flexible radio frequency identification (RFID) tags/chip circuits that can be applied to the football, i.e., to the bladder or an intermediate layer of the football. Each RFID tag circuit 18 is an integrated circuit for storing and processing information, and modulating and demodulating a radio-frequency (RF) signal…the RFID tag circuit 18 also includes at least one antenna for receiving and transmitting the signal…the RFID tag circuit 18 can be passive or active, with an active tag including a battery as a power source…the RFID tag circuit 18 can be a wire mesh, or a pattern or a circuit configured to affect a magnetic field or create a voltage change at it moves through or about a sensing area…the RFID tag circuit 18 is configured with one or more receivers, transmitters, transceivers, power sources, processors, micro-controllers and switches…the RFID tag circuits 18 can be applied as a patch or a layer at desired locations about or within the football 10); and
a computer in communication with each antenna of the plurality of antennae, the computer being configured and adapted to process a signal from one or more antenna of the plurality of antenna in connection with the database to determine a position of the football (paragraph 9: a processing system operably connected to the array of sensors to receive data from the array of sensors, the processing system programmed to process the data from the array of sensors to determine a position of each of the one or more pieces of athletic equipment on the athletic playing surface; paragraph 10: each of the one or more RFID chips comprises an electronic circuit that includes a processor configured to store data, instructions, and programs thereon, including timing instructions for generating RF signals to be transmitted, and a transceiver and antenna operably connected to the processor to send and receive RF signals to exchange information and data with one or more remote outside sensors incorporated into a football field… interaction of the one or more RFID chips with the one or more remote outside sensors enables determination of a position of the wearable article on the football field; paragraph 11: each of the one or more RFID chips comprises an electronic circuit that includes a processor configured to store data, instructions, and programs thereon, including timing instructions for generating RF signals to be transmitted, and a transceiver and antenna operably connected to the processor to send and receive RF signals to exchange information and data with one or more remote outside sensors incorporated into an athletic playing surface… interaction of the one or more RFID chips with the one or more remote outside sensors enables determination of a position of the athletic ball on the athletic playing surface).”
Bergman (‘694) does not explicitly disclose “the computer being preprogramed with a database including a plurality of data objects defining dimensions of the field.”
Alonso et al. (‘027) relates to locating movement of objects. Alonso et al. (‘027) teaches “the computer being preprogramed with a database including a plurality of data objects defining dimensions of the field (paragraph 12: creating a raw data file and causing the raw data file to be stored in a data storage…determining a unit of work, wherein the unit of work comprises the tag location data for a predetermined period of time, and the creating a multidimensional player location per unit time is based on the determined unit of work…creating a filtered data file and causing the filter data file to be stored in a data storage; paragraph 143: 143: automatic recognition of formations, plays, and events through the processing of real time data (or near real time data) regarding location, change in location, velocity, change in acceleration, orientation, or the like, for participants based on an analysis of relevant models and data; paragraph 195: a Geographical Information System or similar monitored area database may be used to associate location data; paragraph 364: stadium or other area location registration data may include the registration data specific to reference tags (e.g. reference tags 104 as shown in FIG. 1), down markers, field markers, health tags, or the like at a specified location…certain objects may be determined to be a in a fixed location and thus would not need to be shared outside of a particular location registration data, data store, or the like…stadium registration data may be stored in the local data storage 514…copy of the stadium registration data may be uploaded, received, and/or synchronized by the registration database 544 after each manipulation).”
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 system of Bergman (‘694) with the teaching of Alonso et al. (‘027) monitoring athletic equipment more reliably (Alonso et al. (‘027) – paragraphs 3-4). In addition, both of the prior art references, (Bergman (‘694) and Alonso et al. (‘027)) teach features that are directed to analogous art and they are directed to the same field of endeavor, such as for providing collecting and analyzing sporting event data based on real time data for proximity and movement of objects.
Regarding claim 13, which is dependent on claim 12, Bergman (‘694)/Alonso et al. (‘027) discloses the system of claim 12. Bergman (‘694) further discloses “the plurality of RFID tags (paragraph 27: the RFID tag circuits 18 can be applied as a patch or a layer at desired locations about or within the football 10 including on the inner or outer surface of the cover 12, within the cover 12, on or within the bladder 14 or within other layers such as winding layers, linings, and padding layers…an RFID tag circuit 18 can also be advantageously positioned beneath the lacing 16 for additional protection and positioning away from the kicking region of the football 10; paragraph 28: As shown in FIG. 1, in an exemplary embodiment, a plurality of RFID tag circuits 18 are included in the football 10 at locations generally corresponding to the ends of the football and each of four sides of the football 10) includes a primary RFID tag (Figure 1: central RFID tag 18).”
Regarding claim 14, which is dependent on claim 13, Bergman (‘694)/Alonso et al. (‘027) discloses the system of claim 13. Bergman (‘694) further discloses “the primary RFID tag is located in a central location (Figure 1: central RFID tag 18).”
Regarding claim 15, which is dependent on claim 12, Bergman (‘694)/Alonso et al. (‘027) discloses the system of claim 12. Bergman (‘694) further discloses “the plurality of RFID tags includes: a first RFID tag located at a first longitudinal end (Figure 1: RFID tag 18); a second RFID tag located at a second longitudinal end; and a subset of RFID tags located circumferentially around a central portion of the football (paragraphs 23-32).”
Regarding claim 16, which is dependent on claim 12, Bergman (‘694)/Alonso et al. (‘027) discloses the system of claim 12. Bergman (‘694) does not explicitly disclose “an electronic communication device including a display and a graphical user interface (GUI), the display and GUI being configured and adapted to alert a user when a predefined event occurs.”
Alonso et al. (‘027) relates to locating movement of objects. Alonso et al. (‘027) teaches “an electronic communication device including a display and a graphical user interface (GUI), the display and GUI being configured and adapted to alert a user when a predefined event occurs (paragraph 408: The receiver hub 108 may also cause the system status data to be displayed on the GUI 516/532for a player tag status history or an equipment status history. The player tag status history as illustrated in FIG. 23 may indicate, without limitation, team name, player number, player position, home or away status, event period, blink status, location status, battery life status, or the like. The tags 102 associated with a player or participant may be indicated by a horizontal bar. The GUI 516/532may be configured to plot (e.g., in a linear graph) the tag 102 status at a predetermined interval (e.g. 5 seconds). A user may select the time period to view by selecting an event period, such as a quarter in American football. A user may select what tag status data is displayed by selecting battery, location, blink, or the like. The status indication bar may indicate the color of the status icon discussed above at each plotted time. The GUI 516/532may also display one or more alerts. In further examples, the GUI 516/532may report a status of any exceptions or any other relevant information, such as shoulder distance, an indication of a fallen tag (e.g., one tag is still moving, while a pair tag remains stationary) and/or the like; paragraph 433: the event field rending may comprise without limitation, a two dimensional graphic representation of the event field and participants locations, a three dimensional graphic representation of the event field and participant locations, time, game time, play count, play type, possession of object, tag code IDs, update time for tags 102, tag time without update, number of tags, tag errors by category, player names, player positions, or the like…the visualization and model engine 517 may create a visualization file for data storage and/or for display on a GUI, map, or dashboard (e.g. event location GUI 516 or support and diagnostics GUI 532). Additionally, participant metric data may be selected and entered into the visualization file from the participant metric data file on the GUI 516/532).”
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 system of Bergman (‘694) with the teaching of Alonso et al. (‘027) monitoring athletic equipment more reliably (Alonso et al. (‘027) – paragraphs 3-4). In addition, both of the prior art references, (Bergman (‘694) and Alonso et al. (‘027)) teach features that are directed to analogous art and they are directed to the same field of endeavor, such as for providing collecting and analyzing sporting event data based on real time data for proximity and movement of objects.
Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Van Bergman (US 2018/0193694 A1)/Alonso et al. (US 2021/0248027 A1), and further in view of Near (US 2021/0146193 A1).
Regarding claim 5, which is dependent on claim 4, Bergman (‘694)/Alonso et al. (‘027) discloses the system of claim 4. Bergman (‘694) does not explicitly disclose “the RFID tag is integrated into an adhesive or paint prior to being integrated into the stamped marking.”
Near (‘193) relates to object tracking. Near (‘193) teaches “the RFID tag is integrated into an adhesive or paint prior to being integrated into the stamped marking (paragraph 18: The RFID tag can be a multi-layered label comprising an adhesive layer, a ferrite layer, a RFID inlay layer, and a cover or padding layer; paragraph 49: FIG. 4B illustrates an adhesive-backed label 440 or sticker with integrated RFID tags to help them stay in place and provide a protective covering for the RFID tags 410).”
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 system of Bergman (‘694)/Alonso et al. (‘027) with the teaching of Near (‘193) for monitoring athletic equipment more reliably (Near (‘193) – paragraph 5). In addition, both of the prior art references, (Bergman (‘694), Alonso et al. (‘027) and Near (‘193)) teach features that are directed to analogous art and they are directed to the same field of endeavor, such as for providing collecting and analyzing sporting event data based on real time data for proximity and movement of objects.
Claim 17 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Van Bergman (US 2018/0193694 A1)/Alonso et al. (US 2021/0248027 A1), and further in view of Baillie (US 10,799,785 B2).
Regarding claim 17, which is dependent on claim 16, Bergman (‘694)/Alonso et al. (‘027) discloses the system of claim 4. Bergman (‘694)/Alonso et al. (‘027) does not explicitly disclose “the computer and the electronic communication device are configured to receive input from an electronically activated handheld whistle,the electronically activated handheld whistle including a transmitter transmitting an electrically coded signal to start or stop a timekeeping clock and a receiver is configured to receive a serialized pulse signal from the timekeeping clock and wherein the handheld whistle includes a vane extending through the sidewall into the housing of the electronic whistle system and wherein the vane includes a pivoting shaft and an optical sensor.”
Baillie (‘785) relates to electronic whistle system. Baillie (‘785) teaches “the computer and the electronic communication device are configured to receive input from an electronically activated handheld whistle, the electronically activated handheld whistle including a transmitter transmitting an electrically coded signal to start or stop a timekeeping clock and a receiver is configured to receive a serialized pulse signal from the timekeeping clock (column 1 lines 5-12: an electronic whistle system. More specifically, the invention pertains to an electronically activated handheld whistle with a transmitter and a receiver for use at various sports games by an official…the electronic whistle system is configured to transmit an electronically coded signal, to instantly start or stop time keeping clocks for any sports games; and
wherein the handheld whistle includes a vane extending through the sidewall into the housing of the electronic whistle system and wherein the vane includes a pivoting shaft and an optical sensor (column 1 line 64-column 2 line 5: the electronic whistle system or the transmitter module comprises a membrane switch, a mouthpiece, a housing, a transmitter antenna and batteries inside the housing…a vane extending through the sidewall into the housing of the electronic whistle system…the vane comprises a pivoting shaft and an optical sensor to provide the reliability of operation…the pivoting shaft has an o-ring through the side wall to prevent water intrusion into the electronic whistle system).”
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 system of Bergman (‘694)/Alonso et al. (‘027) with the teaching of Baillie (‘785) for monitoring athletic equipment more reliably (Baillie (‘785) – column 1 lines 6-12). In addition, both of the prior art references, (Bergman (‘694), Alonso et al. (‘027) and Baillie (‘785)) teach features that are directed to analogous art and they are directed to the same field of endeavor, such as for aiding in sporting event based on detection of proximity and movement of objects.
Claim 18 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Van Bergman (US 2018/0193694 A1)/Alonso et al. (US 2021/0248027 A1), and further in view of Lunner et al. (US 2012/0271440 A1) and Hall et al. (US 2022/0387873 A1).
Regarding claim 18, Bergman (‘694) discloses “a method of monitoring athletic equipment (paragraph 9: a system for determining a position of one or more pieces of athletic equipment on an athletic playing surface; paragraph 10: a wearable location tag system includes a wearable article comprising a shoe or kneepad worn by a football player and one or more RFID chips incorporated into the wearable article and configured to produce and transmit an radio-frequency RF signal therefrom; paragraph 11: an athletic ball includes an outer layer and one or more RFID chips embedded in the athletic ball under the outer layer and configured to produce and transmit an radio-frequency RF signal therefrom; paragraphs 23: an RFID tag is incorporated in a ball or in piece of athletic equipment worn by a player, in order to identify the location of the ball or equipment on the field or court. an associated monitoring system is arranged on the field or court that interact with the RFID tag to provide for such location identification) comprising:
geomapping a plurality of dimensions of a field (paragraph 34: the system 50 can be configured to detect movement of a football 10 and/or equipment 36, 38 on the football field 52 to within the nearest 10 millimeters….the electronic chip can include a GPS transmitter, receiver and/or transceiver);
providing a plurality of antennae around a field, wherein a respective antenna is disposed on each of four pylons along goal lines of the field (claim 9: the athletic playing surface comprises one of a football field and a rugby field that includes goal posts thereon, and wherein the RFID chips in the football or rugby ball, and the interaction thereof with the array of sensors, enable the processing system to determine when the football or rugby ball passes through the goal posts during a kick );
providing an RFID tag to a ball (paragraphs 23: RFID tag is incorporated in a ball or in piece of athletic equipment worn by a player; paragraph 27: Figure 1: the RFID tag circuits 18 can be applied as a patch or a layer at desired locations about or within the football 10 including on the inner or outer surface of the cover 12, within the cover 12, on or within the bladder 14 or within other layers such as winding layers, linings, and padding layers).”
Bergman (‘694) does not explicitly disclose:
“using a database including satellite information of the field”,
“calculating a position of the RFID tag based upon a measured time for a signal to travel between the RFID tag and a respective antenna using trilateration,”
“converting the position to a location within a grid square along a model of a field.”
Alonso et al. (‘027) relates to locating movement of objects. Alonso et al. (‘027) teaches “using a database including satellite information of the field (paragraph 12: creating a raw data file and causing the raw data file to be stored in a data storage …determining a unit of work, wherein the unit of work comprises the tag location data for a predetermined period of time, and the creating a multidimensional player location per unit time is based on the determined unit of work…creating a filtered data file and causing the filter data file to be stored in a data storage; paragraph 143: automatic recognition of formations, plays, and events through the processing of real time data (or near real time data) regarding location, change in location, velocity, change in acceleration, orientation, or the like, for participants based on an analysis of relevant models and data; paragraph 195: a Geographical Information System or similar monitored area database may be used to associate location data; paragraph 364: stadium or other area location registration data may include the registration data specific to reference tags (e.g. reference tags 104 as shown in FIG. 1), down markers, field markers, health tags, or the like at a specified location…certain objects may be determined to be a in a fixed location and thus would not need to be shared outside of a particular location registration data, data store, or the like…stadium registration data may be stored in the local data storage 514…copy of the stadium registration data may be uploaded, received, and/or synchronized by the registration database 544 after each manipulation).”
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 system of Bergman (‘694) with the teaching of Alonso et al. (‘027) monitoring athletic equipment more reliably (Alonso et al. (‘027) – paragraphs 3-4). In addition, both of the prior art references, (Bergman (‘694) and Alonso et al. (‘027)) teach features that are directed to analogous art and they are directed to the same field of endeavor, such as for providing collecting and analyzing sporting event data based on real time data for proximity and movement of objects.
Lunner et al. (‘440) relates to a system for acquiring and processing data pertaining to a shot of an object, on a goal on a playing field. Lunner et al. (‘440) teaches “calculating a position of the RFID tag based upon a measured time for a signal to travel between the RFID tag and a respective antenna using trilateration (paragraph 25: the system comprises a radio frequency (RF) transmitter arranged to be attached to the object and at least one RF receiver configured to receive an RF signal from the RF transmitter…the acquisition device is configured to acquire the position data of the object using the RF signal…allows for a precise and fast determination of the position data which is easily automat zed…the RF signal may be used to acquire position data of the object by means of triangulation, trilateration, multilateration, a probabilistic model or the like).”
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 system of Bergman (‘694)/Alonso et al. (‘027) with the teaching of Lunner et al. (‘440) for more accurate and reliable analysis of game situations (Lunner et al. (‘440) – paragraph 5). In addition, both of the prior art references, (Bergman (‘694), Alonso et al. (‘027) and Lunner et al. (‘440)) teach features that are directed to analogous art and they are directed to the same field of endeavor, such as for providing collecting and analyzing sporting event dat