CTFR 18/523,767 CTFR 101496 DETAILED ACTION Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA. Response to Amendment The amendments to the specification filed on 05/04/2026 has been entered and overcome each objection to the specification. Response to Arguments 07-37 AIA Applicant's arguments filed 05/04/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Regarding Claims 1 and 10 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) over Huseth et al. (US-10672259-B2) , applicant argues Huseth fails to disclose the beacons are a pre-installed building communication system and rather rely on temporary, ad-hoc deployment. Examiner respectfully disagrees, Huseth et al. discloses the breadcrumb beacons deployed on an active response site work in conjunction with the first responders SCBA to help identify the user’s vital signs in conjunction with their active location, as observed in figures 6-10. To this end, the SCBA is equipped with sensors that can measure or predict a flash over event, indicating the sensor placed during an active rescue mission can predict a new emergency event (Huseth et al., fig. 6, par. 45; a sensor 74 can be configured to measure or predict , directly or indirectly, a flashover event. Leading up to a flashover event , certain organic materials, when exposed to high heat or fire during the emergency incident, release flammable gases as part of the thermal decomposition of those organic materials. These flammable gases build up within the space, building, or area of the emergency incident , which can lead to a rapid ignition of the flammable gases, which is the flashover event). Furthermore, the invention as claimed fails to stablish the duration of time prior to an emergency at which the beacons must be installed, under the broadest most reasonable interpretation, predicting a flash over event where beacons have been previously installed in response to an active emergency falls within the scope of the claim as it constitutes a new emergency event where a sensor has been previously deployed. Although the claims are interpreted in light of the specification, limitations from the specification are not read into the claims. See In re Van Geuns , 988 F.2d 1181, 26 USPQ2d 1057 (Fed. Cir. 1993). Therefore, under the broadest most reasonable interpretation an installed beacon can comprise disposable beacons as disclosed by Huseth et al. (Huseth et al. par. 53; These simple, disposable , low cost RF beacons may be provided to key members of a firefighting team). Applicant further argues Huseth et al. fails to explicitly disclose a low power consumption PCBA and the beacons does not inherently suggest the use of a PCBA, examiner respectfully disagrees, Huseth et al. discloses the RF beacon to be a low power radio/battery combination which can operate on low voltage battery (Huseth et al. pars 54-55; RF beacon 100 may include an RF module … The RF beacon 100 may operate using a battery having a suitable voltage (e.g., a 3 volt battery, etc.) and may be waterproof and/or heat resistant up to about 600 T. … The RF beacon 100 may be a low power radio/battery combination) . Furthermore, PCB/PCBA have been standard in the electronic manufacturing industry since at least the release of IPC standard IPC-A-610 acceptability for electronic assemblies, therefore a person of ordinary skill in the art would inherently know the emergency beacon be manufactured with a PCB/PCBA to comply with best practices. Regarding Claim 2 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) over Huseth et al. (US-10672259-B2), applicant argues Huseth et al. fails to teach the activation of the beacon upon the presence of a nearby emergency responder. Examiner respectfully disagrees, Huseth et al. discloses that upon turning on the beacon, the beacon relays the firefighter’s position when passing through its vicinity (Huseth et al. par. 53; Since the signal for the RF beacon may not travel significant distances; when a subsequent firefighters pass through the same vicinity, their portable systems may detect the RF beacon and may relay the identification of the RF beacon back to the IC 23 . Since the RF signal may travel a short distance, the IC 23 can precisely note the place and time the firefighter was at that location associated with the specific RF beacon) . The invention as claimed fails to stablish what constitutes beacon activation (e.g. wake-up, transmit, power-on etc.), under the broadest most reasonable interpretation, detecting the presence of the first responder and transmitting their location falls within the scope of the claim. Regarding Claim 3 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) over Huseth et al. (US-10672259-B2), applicant argues Huseth fails to disclose the use of temporary use beacons. Examiner respectfully disagrees, Huseth et al. discloses the use of disposable (temporary) beacons (Huseth et al. par. 53; These simple, disposable , low cost RF beacons may be provided to key members of a firefighting team) . Applicant further argues the system fails to satisfy the use of both installed beacons and temporary use beacons. Examiner respectfully disagrees, the invention as claimed fails to stablish the beacon type that is installed in independent claim 1. Therefore, under the broadest most reasonable interpretation an “installed beacon” can include temporary used beacons, as described by Huseth the RF beacon can be mounted, place or attached to different structures (Huseth et al., par. 57; The RF beacon 100 may include a simple mounting mechanism (e.g., screws, bolts, straps, adhesive, or combinations thereof) to allow mounting of RF beacon 100 on many internal and/or external structures, such as, for example, a wall, door, siding, tree, telephone pole, etc. The RF beacon 100 may also be placed/attached to vehicles (e.g., a fire truck) to identify a recovery area, nearness to trucks, etc.) . As mentioned earlier the invention as claimed fails to stablish what constitute an installed beacon to differentiate with a temporary use beacon (e.g. length of deployment time, permanent installation, battery life etc.). Regarding Claim 6 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) over Huseth et al. (US-10672259-B2), applicant argues Huseth fails to disclose a “low profile housing”, examiner respectfully disagrees, Huseth et al. discloses the beacon to be of small dimensions and made of any suitable shape (Huseth et al. par. 54; The RF beacon 100 may have a length, L, from about 1.5 inches to about 3 inches; a width, W, from about 1 inch to about 2 inches; and a height from about 0.5 inch to about 1 inch . The RF beacon 100 may be of any suitable shape , such as, for example, a polyhedron (e.g., cube, rectangular prism, a triangular prism)) . Furthermore, the invention as claimed fails to disclose what constitute a “low profile housing”, under the broadest most reasonable interpretation, a housing made in any shape and consisting of a small footprint falls within the scope of the claim. Regarding Claim 12 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) over Huseth et al. (US-10672259-B2), applicant argues Huseth fails to disclose “the annotated map is stored such that it is accessible by an incident commander”. Examiner respectfully disagrees, the cited passage explicitly discloses the transfer of data packets used for mapping clusters of firefighters (Huseth et al. par. 34; The central processer 56 can use association mapping and graph theory to develop most likely clusters of firefighters 14. … The user interface 58 of the incident command monitoring system 22 provides a visual display of the teams 12) Huseth further discloses the signals detected by the firefighters from the RF beacons containing their relative position, time and identification can be stored to track their position over time and displayed on a user interface as observed in figures 15-16 (Huseth et al. pars. Figs. 15-16, 63-65; the signals detected by the firefighters from the RF beacon(s) can be transmitted back to the incident commander, where the signals can be detected and stored along with various identification information for the firefighters as well as a time stamp. Upon passing by a plurality of RF beacons, a path can be detected for each firefighter such that the relative locations and timings of the firefighters can be traced. This may allow other firefighters to follow a lead firefighter, or the firefighters position to be tracked over time) PNG media_image1.png 532 714 media_image1.png Greyscale Regarding Claim 13 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) over Huseth et al. (US-10672259-B2), applicant argues Huseth fails to fails to satisfy the claims use of both installed beacons and temporary use beacons to bolster an existing network. Examiner respectfully disagrees, the invention as claimed fails to stablish the beacon type that is installed in independent claim 10. Although the claims are interpreted in light of the specification, limitations from the specification are not read into the claims. See In re Van Geuns , 988 F.2d 1181, 26 USPQ2d 1057 (Fed. Cir. 1993). Therefore, under the broadest most reasonable interpretation an “installed beacon” can include temporary used beacons (Huseth et al. par. 53; These simple, disposable , low cost RF beacons may be provided to key members of a firefighting team) , furthermore, Huseth et al. discloses that the beacons RF signal travels through short distances and these beacons can be thrown to areas in the vicinity of a lost firefighter (i.e. bolstering the current network), examiner further notes the use of (Huseth et al., par. 53; Since the RF signal may travel a short distance, the IC 23 can precisely note the place and time the firefighter was at that location associated with the specific RF beacon. Additional uses of the RF beacons may include mounting the RF beacons on rocks or heavy objects that can be thrown into a structure. If the RF beacon is thrown into the vicinity of a lost firefighter, the relay of the RF beacon identification can be used to confirm the firefighter's position), additionally the beacons can work in tandem with an RF relay station to increase the communication range of the beacons further bolstering the current network (Huseth et al. par. 58; the RF relay station … increase a communication range) . As described by Huseth the RF beacon can be mounted, place or attached to different structures (Huseth et al., par. 57; The RF beacon 100 may include a simple mounting mechanism (e.g., screws, bolts, straps, adhesive, or combinations thereof) to allow mounting of RF beacon 100 on many internal and/or external structures, such as, for example, a wall, door, siding, tree, telephone pole, etc. The RF beacon 100 may also be placed/attached to vehicles (e.g., a fire truck) to identify a recovery area, nearness to trucks, etc.) . As mentioned earlier the invention as claimed fails to stablish what constitute an installed beacon to differentiate with a temporary use beacon (e.g. length of deployment time, permanent installation, battery life etc.). Regarding Claim 14 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) over Huseth et al. (US-10672259-B2), applicant argues Huseth et al. fails to disclose the claimed combination of pre-installed beacon networks and temporary used beacons operating in a single communication network. Examiner respectfully disagrees, similarly to claims 10 and 13, the invention as claimed fails to stablish what constitute an installed beacon to differentiate with a temporary use beacon (e.g. length of deployment time, permanent installation, battery life etc.). Although the claims are interpreted in light of the specification, limitations from the specification are not read into the claims. See In re Van Geuns , 988 F.2d 1181, 26 USPQ2d 1057 (Fed. Cir. 1993). Therefore, under the broadest most reasonable interpretation an installed beacon can comprise disposable beacons as disclosed by Huseth et al. (Huseth et al. par. 53; These simple, disposable , low cost RF beacons may be provided to key members of a firefighting team). Applicant further argues the beacons may be operating under different protocols e.g. RF beacon-to-portable device communication. Examiner respectfully disagrees, while Huseth et al. does disclose the capability of operating in an RF beacon-to-portable device protocol, Huseth et al. further teaches the capability to stablish communications in only one or a combination of multiple protocols (Huseth et al. par. 55; The RF beacon 100 … may use one of many wireless protocols , such as, for example, low power protocols such as Bluetooth Low Energy (“BLE”), low power wide area network (“LPWAN”), 802.15.4 … or combinations thereof ) and the capability of establishing a breadcrumb communication using the RF beacons and the SCBA (Huseth et al., fig. 12, par. 57; a breadcrumb telemetry system 110. Breadcrumb telemetry system 110 may include incident commander 112, an optional RF relay station 114, the RF beacon 100 (bread-crumb), and a portable device 116. A wireless protocol, such as, for example, BLE, low power wide area network (“LPWAN”), 802.15.4, or combinations thereof) . Furthermore, claim 10 states “wherein each beacon is placed in a location such that it can communicate with at least its next nearest beacon when activated and/or nearby emergency personnel ” therefore under the broadest most reasonable interpretation a beacon network comprising communication with a firefighter’s SCBA as disclosed by Huseth et al. falls within the scope of the claims, further supported by par. 30 of applicant specifications “ These nodes can connect with the SCBA and other apparatus on scene (such as the incident commander's gateway, communication drones, and/or other temporary nodes ”. Regarding Claims 4 and 8 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 over Huseth et al. (US-10672259-B2) in view of Delaney (US-7907052-B2) , applicant argues combination of pre-installed beacon networks and temporary used beacons operating in a single communication network. Examiner respectfully disagrees, similarly to claims 1, 10, 13 and 14, the invention as claimed fails to stablish what constitute an installed beacon to differentiate with a temporary use beacon (e.g. length of deployment time, permanent installation, battery life etc.), Although the claims are interpreted in light of the specification, limitations from the specification are not read into the claims. See In re Van Geuns , 988 F.2d 1181, 26 USPQ2d 1057 (Fed. Cir. 1993). Therefore, under the broadest most reasonable interpretation an installed beacon can comprise disposable beacons as disclosed by Huseth et al. (Huseth et al. par. 53; These simple, disposable , low cost RF beacons may be provided to key members of a firefighting team). Regarding Claim 15 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 over Huseth et al. (US-10672259-B2) in view of Delaney (US-7907052-B2) , applicant argues combination of pre-installed beacon networks and temporary used beacons operating in a single communication network. Examiner respectfully disagrees, similarly to claims 1, 10, 13 and 14, the invention as claimed fails to stablish what constitute an installed beacon to differentiate with a temporary use beacon (e.g. length of deployment time, permanent installation, battery life etc.). Although the claims are interpreted in light of the specification, limitations from the specification are not read into the claims. See In re Van Geuns , 988 F.2d 1181, 26 USPQ2d 1057 (Fed. Cir. 1993). Therefore, under the broadest most reasonable interpretation an installed beacon can comprise disposable beacons as disclosed by Huseth et al. (Huseth et al. par. 53; These simple, disposable , low cost RF beacons may be provided to key members of a firefighting team). Applicant further argues the combination of Huseth and Delaney fail to teach the claimed two network architecture. Examiner respectfully disagrees, Huseth et al. discloses the RF beacons may use one or more wireless protocols or a combination thereof (Huseth et al. par. 55; The RF beacon 100 … may use one of many wireless protocols , such as, for example, low power protocols such as Bluetooth Low Energy (“BLE”), low power wide area network (“LPWAN”), 802.15.4 … or combinations thereof ), Delaney further teaches the use of RFID and ad-hoc network capable of being in communication with each other by generating a mesh network across the sensors (Delaney, pars. 14-15; The radio frequency electronics contemplated as within the scope of the present invention include network compliant electronics … Example include active RFID networks, and ad hoc networks … a mesh network or a pseudo GPS point-to-point network can be established) . Therefore, a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date would have been motivated to combine Huseth et al. teachings for automatic firefighter sensing with Delaney’s teachings for a wirelessly connected door chock for firefighters to enhance firefighter location at an active disaster site by stablishing one or more networks in one or a combination of wireless protocols across the sensors deployed . 07-37-13 AIA In response to applicant's arguments against the references individually, one cannot show nonobviousness by attacking references individually where the rejections are based on combinations of references. See In re Keller , 642 F.2d 413, 208 USPQ 871 (CCPA 1981); In re Merck & Co., 800 F.2d 1091, 231 USPQ 375 (Fed. Cir. 1986). 07-37-03 AIA In response to applicant's argument that the examiner's conclusion of obviousness is based upon improper hindsight reasoning, it must be recognized that any judgment on obviousness is in a sense necessarily a reconstruction based upon hindsight reasoning. But so long as it takes into account only knowledge which was within the level of ordinary skill at the time the claimed invention was made, and does not include knowledge gleaned only from the applicant's disclosure, such a reconstruction is proper. See In re McLaughlin , 443 F.2d 1392, 170 USPQ 209 (CCPA 1971). Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 07-06 AIA 15-10-15 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. 07-07-aia AIA 07-07 The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action: A person shall be entitled to a patent unless – 07-08-aia AIA (a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. 07-15-aia AIA Claim(s) 1-3, 6-7 and 9-14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(1) as being anticipated by Huseth et al. (US-10672259-B2) . Regarding Claim 1 , Huseth et al. discloses a communications system for emergency personnel (Summary, par. 4; systems, apparatuses, and method for alerting an incident commander (IC) about emergency response personnel at risk during emergency response), the system comprising: a plurality of beacons disposed in a building or large structure, wherein each beacon is placed in a location such that it can communicate with at least its next nearest beacon when activated and/or nearby emergency personnel (Summary, par.12; a method for directing an emergency responder may comprise attaching a plurality of beacons to a structure within a building, wherein each beacon comprises a radio frequency module; activating each beacon; communicating to a computer system a description of a placement of each beacon relative to surrounding structures; transmitting information from each beacon to a telemetry module, wherein the telemetry module is mounted on a self-contained breathing apparatus of an emergency responder), wherein each beacon comprises a low power consumption PCBA, a battery, and a housing (Detailed description, par. 55; The RF beacon 100 may be a low power radio/battery combination that may use one of many wireless protocols), wherein each beacon is installed in the building or large structure prior to a disaster incident or event (Detailed Description, fig. 13, par. 57; The RF beacon 100 may also be placed/attached to vehicles (e.g., a fire truck) to identify a recovery area, nearness to trucks, etc. The RF beacon 100 may indicate that a user is outside of a structure or inside a structure based on signal strength between the RF beacon 100 and portable device 116. When a firefighter activates and attaches the RF beacon 100 to a structure, the firefighter may also contact an incident commander). PNG media_image2.png 582 740 media_image2.png Greyscale Regarding Claim 2 , Huseth et al. discloses the system of claim 1, wherein each beacon is activated upon the presence of a nearby emergency responder (Detailed Description, fig. 3, par 53; Since the signal for the RF beacon may not travel significant distances; when a subsequent firefighters pass through the same vicinity, their portable systems may detect the RF beacon and may relay the identification of the RF beacon back to the IC 23). PNG media_image3.png 318 465 media_image3.png Greyscale Regarding Claim 3 , Huseth et al discloses the system of claim 1, further comprising one or more temporary use beacons (Detailed description, fig. 13, par 53; simple-to-deploy system for identifying key regions … These simple, disposable , low cost RF beacons may be provided to key members of a firefighting team) Regarding Claim 6 , Huseth et al., discloses the system of claim 1, wherein the housing comprises a low-profile housing (Detailed Description, Fig. 1, par. 30; each of the CUs 20 is integrated into an SCBA 34 that is assigned to and worn by a specific firefighter 14. In some applications, it will be desirable for each of the CUs 20 to be a self-contained unit with its own housing that can be carried in a pocket of the firefighter’s bunker gear, and/or attached to another piece of personal protective equipment that is worn by a firefighter) Regarding Claim 7 , Huseth et al., discloses the system of claim 1, wherein one or more of the plurality of beacons comprise an adhesive backing to secure a beacon at a particular location in the building or large structure (Summary, par. 10; The system of claim 1, wherein one or more of the plurality of beacons comprise an adhesive backing to secure a beacon at a particular location in the building or large structure). Regarding Claim 9 , Huseth et al., discloses the system of claim 1, wherein each beacon is assigned a unique identifier (Detailed Description, figs. 1-2, par. 31; Each CU 20 is configured to, at least periodically, transmit a unique identification 35 from the shortrange radio of the communication unit). Regarding Claim 10 , Huseth et al., discloses a method of installing a communications system for emergency personnel in a building or structure, comprising: providing a plurality of beacons (Summary, fig. 1, par 11; a method for tracking an emergency responder may comprise attaching a plurality of beacons to a structure within a building, wherein each beacon comprises a radio frequency module; activating each beacon; communicating to a computer system a description of a placement of each beacon relative to surrounding structures), wherein each beacon comprises a low power consumption PCBA, a battery, and a housing (Detailed description, par. 55; The RF beacon 100 may be a low power radio/battery combination that may use one of many wireless protocols); and disposing each beacon in the building or large structure, wherein each beacon is placed in a location such that it can communicate with at least its next nearest beacon when activated and/or nearby emergency personnel, wherein each beacon is installed in the building or large structure prior to a disaster incident or emergency event (Detailed Description, fig. 13, par. 57; The RF beacon 100 may also be placed/attached to vehicles (e.g., a fire truck) to identify a recovery area, nearness to trucks, etc. The RF beacon 100 may indicate that a user is outside of a structure or inside a structure based on signal strength between the RF beacon 100 and portable device 116. When a firefighter activates and attaches the RF beacon 100 to a structure, the firefighter may also contact an incident commander). Regarding Claim 11 , Huseth et al., discloses the method of claim 10, further comprising indicating, on a floorplan or map of the building or large structure, the location of each beacon, to produce an annotated map (Summary, par. 11; a method for tracking an emergency responder may comprise attaching a plurality of beacons to a structure within a building … transmitting information from each beacon to a telemetry module … transmitting the information from the telemetry module to the computer system; drawing a floor plan, with the computer system, of the building based on the description; and displaying in the user interface, the floor plan and location of each beacon) Regarding Claim 12 , Huseth et al., discloses the method of claim 11, wherein the annotated map is stored such that it is accessible by an incident commander during the disaster incident or emergency event (Detailed Description, fig. 4, par. 34; the operation of one embodiment of the incident command monitoring system 22 is illustrated, with the central processor 56 receiving each of the data packets 38 from the CUs 20 via the long-range radio 54, and stores them in the database 55, as shown at 60. The central processor 56 then runs an algorithm or other such computer-implemented process or method, using the data in the received data packet database 55, to determine the team affiliations indicated by the received data packets 38. The central processor 56 can then compare the indicated affiliations to the actual team assignments stored in the database 52 of firefighters and team assignments, as shown at blocks 62 and 64. The central processer 56 can use association mapping and graph theory to develop PNG media_image4.png 632 849 media_image4.png Greyscale most likely clusters of firefighters 14). Regarding Claim 13 , Huseth et al teaches the method of claim 10, further comprising dispensing one or more temporary use beacons in the building or large structure during the disaster incident or emergency event(Summary, par. 13; a method for directing an emergency responder may comprise attaching a plurality of beacons to a structure within a building, wherein each beacon comprises a radio frequency module; activating each beacon; communicating to a computer system a description of a placement of each beacon relative to surrounding structures; transmitting information from each beacon to a telemetry module, wherein the telemetry module is mounted on a self-contained breathing apparatus of an emergency responder; transmitting the information from the telemetry module to the computer system), wherein the one or more temporary use beacons bolster the existing beacon network (Detailed Description, fig. 12, par. 58; The incident commander 112 may be manned or unmanned. The RF relay station 114 may be an optional component of breadcrumb telemetry system 110. The RF relay station(s) 114 may be deployed as needed to increase a communication range PNG media_image5.png 655 851 media_image5.png Greyscale between incident commander 112 and the portable device 116). Regarding Claim 14 , Huseth et al discloses, the method of claim 13, wherein the temporary use beacons operate in the same communication frequency or protocol as the plurality of beacons to create a single communication network comprising the plurality of beacons (Summary, figs. 12-13, par. 13; a method for directing an emergency responder may comprise attaching a plurality of beacons to a structure within a building, wherein each beacon comprises a radio frequency module; activating each beacon; communicating to a computer system a description of a placement of each beacon relative to surrounding structures; transmitting information from each beacon to a telemetry module, wherein the telemetry module is mounted on a self-contained breathing apparatus of an emergency responder; transmitting the information from the telemetry module to the computer system) and the temporary use beacons (Detailed Description, figs. 12-13, pars. 53 and 58; These simple, disposable, low cost RF beacons may be provided to key members of a firefighting team, as they enter and move around a structure. At key points inside or outside the structure, the firefighters may take one of the RF beacons, activate the RF beacon (e.g., by turning dial 104, etc.), and mount it to a surrounding structure. Upon activating the RF beacon, the RF beacon may begin transmitting a signal (e.g., wireless) providing its identification and/or location … A wireless protocol, such as, for example, BLE, low power wide area network (“LPWAN”), 802.15.4, or combinations thereof, may be a communication protocol for communication between RF beacon 100 and portable device 116) PNG media_image6.png 655 851 media_image6.png Greyscale Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 07-06 AIA 15-10-15 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. 07-20-aia AIA 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. 07-23-aia AIA 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. 07-22-aia AIA Claim (s) 4, 8 and 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Huseth et al. (US-10672259-B2 ) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Delaney (US-7907052-B2 ) . Regarding Claim 4 , Huseth et al. discloses the system of claim 3 (Detailed Description, fig. 13, par. 53; a simple-to-deploy system for identifying key regions and providing automated information on the time and last known position for accountability and directing search and rescue operations. Firefighter or emergency workers may carry portable systems (e.g., SCBA 34) that can include a low cost, low power radio frequency (“RF”) transceiver. These simple, disposable, low cost RF beacons may be provided to key members of a firefighting team, as they enter and move around a structure. At key points inside or outside the structure, the firefighters may take one of the RF beacons, activate the RF beacon (e.g., by turning dial 104, etc.), and mount it to a surrounding structure. Upon activating the RF beacon, the RF beacon may begin transmitting a signal (e.g., wireless) providing its identification and/or location. The RF beacon may have a simple mounting mechanism (e.g., screws, bolts, straps, adhesive, or combinations thereof) to allow mounting of the RF beacon on many internal or external structures) Huseth et al. does not teach a temporary a beacon disposed in a wedge-shaped housing configured to be placed as a door stop, wherein the at least one temporary use beacon is activated upon pressure placed on a major surface of the wedge-shaped by a door contacting at least one major surface. However, Delaney discloses a wedge-shaped door chock housing a sensor which when placed into service, provide and relay information wirelessly to locate firefighters (Delaney, Detailed Description, figs. 1-3, par. 10). The device can be activated automatically when placed by a door by applying sufficient force to the upper surface of the chock or manually by using the activation button (Delaney, Detailed Description, figs. 1-3, par. 11). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to have combined the teachings of Huseth et al. and Delaney to implement a temporary beacon in the shape of a door chock, a common household item to enhance the ability to locate firefighters and aid in their operations and easy deployment. Regarding Claim 5 , Huseth et al. discloses the system of claim 3 (Detailed Description, fig. 13, par. 53; a simple-to-deploy system for identifying key regions and providing automated information on the time and last known position for accountability and directing search and rescue operations. Firefighter or emergency workers may carry portable systems (e.g., SCBA 34) that can include a low cost, low power radio frequency (“RF”) transceiver. These simple, disposable, low cost RF beacons may be provided to key members of a firefighting team, as they enter and move around a structure. At key points inside or outside the structure, the firefighters may take one of the RF beacons, activate the RF beacon (e.g., by turning dial 104, etc.), and mount it to a surrounding structure. Upon activating the RF beacon, the RF beacon may begin transmitting a signal (e.g., wireless) providing its identification and/or location. The RF beacon may have a simple mounting mechanism (e.g., screws, bolts, straps, adhesive, or combinations thereof) to allow mounting of the RF beacon on many internal or external structures). Huseth et al. further teaches the system can include a plurality of wearable wireless devices that can be attached to another piece of firefighter’s personal protective equipment or carried in a pocket of the firefighter’s gear (Huseth et al., Summary, pars. 4-5). Huseth et al. does not teach temporary use beacons dispensed and activated by an automatic dispenser attached to one or more emergency responders. However, Delaney teaches that enhanced door chock can be modified to fit into the handles of hand tools such as axe, hook, sledge hammer or any other piece of their personal protective equipment (Delaney, Detailed description, par. 12). Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify Huseth et al. temporary beacons to be dispensed by an automatic dispenser attached to the first responder as taught by Delaney in order to enable faster deployment during an emergency by reducing manual handling. Regarding Claim 8, Delaney further teaches a beacon comprising piezo device or speaker to emit audible sounds (Detailed Description, par. 6; The Enhanced Door Chock (EDC) turns a singularly functioning tool into a multi-operational device that enhances fire department operations and safety, fire fighter accountability, general knowledge, and situational awareness. The EDC enhances search and rescue operations because it guides fire fighters to the location of placement of the EDC, through visual, audible, and heat indicators. Fire fighters are able to locate the device via the strobe-light, audible indicators, the heat signature from the device, or the wireless transmission of the actual location to fire fighters' heads-up display or other handheld device) Regarding Claim 15, Huseth et al. teaches the method of claim 13, wherein the temporary use beacons operate in a different communication frequency or protocol (Huseth et al., fig. 12, par 58; A wireless protocol, such as, for example, BLE, low power wide area network (“LPWAN”), 802.15.4, or combinations thereof, may be a communication protocol for communication between RF beacon 100 and portable device 116. A wireless protocol, such as, for example, a long range radio may be a communication protocol for communication among the RF relay station 114, the portable device 116, and the incident commander 112. Huseth et al. does not teach creating two separate communication networks, with a first communication network comprising the plurality of beacons and a second communication network comprising the temporary use beacons. However, Delaney teaches the use of network compliant electronic to include RFID networks and ad-hoc networks such as those having IEEE designations to stablish a mesh network or a GPS point to point network in the temporary door chock (Delaney, Detailed description pars. 14-15). Therefore, it would have been obvious for a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Huseth et al. to stablish support for different wireless communication protocols with Delaney’s independent point to point network communication of temporary beacons to stablish two separate networks to enhance data handling between temporary and permanent beacons and enable flexible communication between the systems. Conclusion 07-39 AIA THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a). A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MARIO R CAMPERO MIRAMONTES whose telephone number is (571)272-5792. The examiner can normally be reached Monday -Thursday 0600 - 1600. 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, Yuwen (Kevin) Pan can be reached at (571) 272-7855. 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. /MRCM/ Examiner, Art Unit 2649 /YUWEN PAN/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2649 Application/Control Number: 18/523,767 Page 2 Art Unit: 2649 Application/Control Number: 18/523,767 Page 3 Art Unit: 2649 Application/Control Number: 18/523,767 Page 4 Art Unit: 2649 Application/Control Number: 18/523,767 Page 5 Art Unit: 2649 Application/Control Number: 18/523,767 Page 6 Art Unit: 2649 Application/Control Number: 18/523,767 Page 7 Art Unit: 2649 Application/Control Number: 18/523,767 Page 8 Art Unit: 2649 Application/Control Number: 18/523,767 Page 9 Art Unit: 2649 Application/Control Number: 18/523,767 Page 10 Art Unit: 2649 Application/Control Number: 18/523,767 Page 11 Art Unit: 2649 Application/Control Number: 18/523,767 Page 12 Art Unit: 2649 Application/Control Number: 18/523,767 Page 13 Art Unit: 2649 Application/Control Number: 18/523,767 Page 14 Art Unit: 2649 Application/Control Number: 18/523,767 Page 15 Art Unit: 2649 Application/Control Number: 18/523,767 Page 16 Art Unit: 2649 Application/Control Number: 18/523,767 Page 17 Art Unit: 2649 Application/Control Number: 18/523,767 Page 18 Art Unit: 2649 Application/Control Number: 18/523,767 Page 19 Art Unit: 2649 Application/Control Number: 18/523,767 Page 20 Art Unit: 2649 Application/Control Number: 18/523,767 Page 21 Art Unit: 2649
Prosecution Insights