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 .
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-18 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
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.
Claim 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wohrstein et al. (US pub No. 2016/0128213) and Murphy (US Patent No. 9,284,987).
Regarding claim 1, Wohrstein teaches a rotating equipment monitoring device (See abstract) comprising:
a housing comprising a first accommodating space and a second accommodating space, wherein the second accommodating space is located at an end of the housing and separated from the first accommodating space by a partition wall of the housing (see abstract, [0052] and Fig. 1 which teaches that the sensor is in multiple parts with a top space and a bottom space which are separated by a covering part 20.);
a sensor assembly arranged in the first accommodating space (see [0054]);
wherein the first accommodating space is filled with an explosion-proof medium that completely surrounds the sensor assembly (see [0008] which teaches a flameproof interior).
Wohrstein does not teach an antenna circuit board with an antenna installed thereon, wherein the antenna is configured to communicate with the sensor assembly and is arranged in the second accommodating space; and a cover sealing the antenna circuit board in the second accommodating space.
Murphy teaches an antenna circuit board with an antenna installed thereon, wherein the antenna is configured to communicate with the sensor assembly and is arranged in the second accommodating space; and a cover sealing the antenna circuit board in the second accommodating space (See abstract, Col. 3, lines 62-66, Col. 7 lines 11-29, and Fig. 7 teaches antenna (1054) in the top portion separated from the sensor (60) in the base portion of the device. A body portion cover encloses the top portion and base portion.).
One of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed would have been motivated to modify Wohrstein’s device to include Murphy’s teachings for “a simple, low cost way to monitor the status of a bearings health in a piece of rotating industrial equipment” (Col. 1 lines 26-27). Therefore, the invention as a whole would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made.
Claim 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Murphy and Wohrstein as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Saito et al. (US Pub No. 2022/0099721).
Regarding claim 2, Wohrstein does not teach an adhesive part, which adheres the antenna circuit board to the partition wall of the housing.
Saito teaches an adhesive part which adheres the antenna circuit board (See [0027]).
One of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed would have been motivated to modify Wohrstein’s device to include Saito’s teachings to properly secure the antenna in a dynamic environment. Therefore, the invention as a whole would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to THOMAS S MCCORMACK whose telephone number is (571)272-0841. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 8:30 AM - 5:00 PM.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Brian Zimmerman can be reached at (571) 272-3059. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/THOMAS S MCCORMACK/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2686
Prosecution Insights