DETAILED CORRESPONDENCE
This final office action is in response to the Amendments filed on 29 December 2025, regarding application number 18/551,065.
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 .
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.
Response to Amendment
Claims 1, 3-4, 6-10, 14, 17, 26, 30 ,32 and 38-41 remain pending in the application, while claims 2, 5, 11-13, 15-16, 18-25, 27-29, 31 and 33-37 have been cancelled. Claims 40-41 are new.
Applicant’s amendments to the Specification and Claims have overcome each and every objection and 35 U.S.C. 101 rejections previously set forth in the non-final office action mailed 31 July 2025. Therefore, the objections and rejections have been withdrawn.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see Page 11, filed 29 December 2025, with respect to the rejections of the claim under 35 U.S.C. § 102 have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejections have been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made further in view of Oftedahl (WO 2020207791 A1). See full details below.
Applicant’s arguments, see Pages 11-12, with respect to the rejections of claims under 35 U.S.C. § 103 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive because the combination of the previously cited art teaches each and every element of the pending claims. For example, Kato in view of Oftedahl teaches at least the claim limitations of the amended impendent claims. See full details below. Accordingly, the claims remain rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103.
Applicant’s arguments, see Page 12, with respect to the claims which are provisionally rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Applicant made no specific argument, but rather stated “Upon indication of allowable subject matter, Applicant will submit the appropriate Terminal Disclaimer in order to obviate this rejection.”. Accordingly, the rejections have been maintained for at least the reasons discussed in the prior office action and below.
Double Patenting
The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP § 2146 et seq. for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
The filing of a terminal disclaimer by itself is not a complete reply to a nonstatutory double patenting (NSDP) rejection. A complete reply requires that the terminal disclaimer be accompanied by a reply requesting reconsideration of the prior Office action. Even where the NSDP rejection is provisional the reply must be complete. See MPEP § 804, subsection I.B.1. For a reply to a non-final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.111(a). For a reply to final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.113(c). A request for reconsideration while not provided for in 37 CFR 1.113(c) may be filed after final for consideration. See MPEP §§ 706.07(e) and 714.13.
The USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The actual filing date of the application in which the form is filed determines what form (e.g., PTO/SB/25, PTO/SB/26, PTO/AIA /25, or PTO/AIA /26) should be used. A web-based eTerminal Disclaimer may be filled out completely online using web-screens. An eTerminal Disclaimer that meets all requirements is auto-processed and approved immediately upon submission. For more information about eTerminal Disclaimers, refer to www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/applying-online/eterminal-disclaimer.
Regarding Claims 1, 3-4, 6, 8-10, 26, 30, 32 and 38-41
Claims 1, 3-4, 6, 8-10, 26, 30, 32 and 38-41 are provisionally rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-3, 5-7, 18, 20, 26-29, filed on 08 October 2025, of copending Application No. 18/551,072 ('072 hereinafter) (reference application). Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because the only difference between the claims at issue is the claims of the instant application recite a “vessel” while the claims of ‘072 recite a “stationary object”, but neither the claimed vessel or stationary object are defined in the claims and a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention would have been more than capable of modifying the claimed stationary object of ‘072 to be a vessel in order to attain the same results of identifying a level of risk of fouling on the surface of the vessel.
Regarding Claim 1
'072 recites a computer implemented method of dynamically monitoring the cleanliness of a hull of a vessel during a journey of said vessel (see claim 1), the method performed on a computing device and comprising:
retrieving environmental data from memory of the computing device, the environmental data associated with environment conditions of the vessel (see claim 1);
determining a fouling protection value defining a tolerance to fouling associated with a surface of the vessel (see claim 1);
determining a fouling value indicative of a level of fouling that the surface is exposed to based on at least the environmental data (see claim 1);
identifying a level of risk of fouling on the surface of the vessel by determining a fouling risk value using the fouling protection value and the fouling value (see claim 1); and
identifying high risk fouling conditions by determining that the fouling risk value exceeds a predetermined threshold, and in response (see claim 1), outputting a control signal to:
a remotely operated underwater vehicle or a hull cleaning robot configured to clean the hull of the vessel, to initiate inspection of the surface of the vessel (see claim 1); or
a hull cleaning robot configured to clean the hull of the vessel, to initiate cleaning of the surface of the vessel (see claim 1): or an output device of the computing device, or
a remote device, to alert a user to the high risk fouling conditions, and in response to receiving user confirmation that action is to be taken, the method further comprising outputting a further control signal to (i) a remotely operated underwater vehicle or a hull cleaning robot configured to clean the hull of the vessel, to initiate inspection of the surface of the vessel: or (ii) a hull cleaning robot configured to clean the hull of the vessel, to initiate cleaning of the surface of the vessel (see claim 1).
Regarding Claim 3
'072 recites the method of claim 1 (as discussed above in claim 1),
wherein the environmental data comprises a value associated with each of one or more environmental parameters (see claim 2).
Regarding Claim 4
'072 recites the method of claim 3 (as discussed above in claim 3),
wherein the environmental data relates to a geographical location of the vessel (see claim 3).
Regarding Claim 6
'072 recites the method of claim 4 (as discussed above in claim 4),
wherein environmental data relating to multiple geographical locations is stored in the memory, and the environmental data relating to the geographical location of the vessel is retrieved using the geographical location of the vessel (see claim 5).
Regarding Claim 8
'072 recites the method of claim 1 (as discussed above in claim 1),
where the fouling value is an instantaneous fouling value indicative of a level of fouling that the surface is exposed to at a sampling time, the instantaneous fouling value determined by computing a weighted average of values of a plurality of risk parameters, the plurality of risk parameters comprising at least one environmental parameter defined in the environmental data (see claim 6).
Regarding Claim 9
'072 recites the method of claim 1 (as discussed above in claim 1),
where the fouling risk value is determined based on: (i) a plurality of instantaneous fouling risk values, each of the plurality of instantaneous fouling risk values identifying a level of risk of fouling on the surface of the vessel at a respective sampling time in a time period, (ii) a time factor relating to said time period, and (iii) activity of the vessel during said time period (see claim 7).
Regarding Claim 10
'072 recites the method of claim 1 (as discussed above in claim 1),
further comprising identifying high risk fouling conditions by determining that the fouling risk value exceeds a predetermined threshold, and in response outputting a control signal (see claim 1).
Regarding Claim 26
'072 recites the method of claim 1 (as discussed above in claim 1),
wherein in response to determining that the fouling risk exceeds the predetermined threshold the method further comprises outputting a control signal to a vessel control system to control the vessel to take operational measures (see claim 1).
Regarding Claim 30
'072 recites the method of claim 1 (as discussed above in claim 1),
wherein the fouling protection value is determined based on a value defining an attractiveness of the surface to fouling (see claim 18).
Regarding Claim 32
'072 recites the method of claim 1 (as discussed above in claim 1),
wherein the fouling protection value is determined based on a value defining an effect, on the surface, of water moving over said surface (see claim 20).
Regarding Claim 38
'072 recites a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions which,
when executed by a processor of a computing device (see claim 26), cause the processor to carry out the method of claim 1 (as discussed above in claim 26).
Regarding Claim 39
'072 recites a computing device for dynamically monitoring the cleanliness of a hull of a vessel during a journey of said vessel (see claim 27), the computing device comprising a processor configured to:
retrieve environmental data from memory of the computing device, the environmental data associated with environment conditions of the vessel (see claim 27);
determine a fouling protection value defining a tolerance to fouling associated with a surface of the vessel (see claim 27);
determine a fouling value indicative of a level of fouling that the surface is exposed to based on at least the environmental data (claim 27);
identify a level of risk fouling on the surface of the vessel by determining a fouling risk value using the fouling protection value and the fouling value (see claim 27);
identify high risk fouling conditions by determining that the fouling risk value exceeds a predetermined threshold, and in response, output a control signal to (claim 27):
a remotely operated underwater vehicle or a hull cleaning robot configured to clean the hull of the vessel, to initiate inspection of the surface of the vessel (claim 27); or
a hull cleaning robot configured to clean the hull of the vessel, to initiate cleaning of the surface of the vessel; or an output device of the computing device (claim 27), or
a remote device, to alert a user to the high risk fouling conditions, and in response to receiving user confirmation that action is to be taken, the processor configured to output a further control signal to (i) a remotely operated underwater vehicle or a hull cleaning robot configured to clean the hull of the vessel, to initiate inspection of the surface of the vessel; or (ii) a hull cleaning robot configured to clean the hull of the vessel, to initiate cleaning of the surface of the vessel (claim 27).
Regarding Claim 40
'072 recites a computer implemented method of dynamically monitoring the cleanliness of a hull of a vessel during a journey of said vessel, the method performed on a hull cleaning robot configured to clean the hull of the vessel (see claim 28), and comprising:
retrieving environmental data from memory of the computing device, the environmental data associated with environment conditions of the vessel (see claim 28);
determining a fouling protection value defining a tolerance to fouling associated with a surface of the vessel (see claim 28);
determining a fouling value indicative of a level of fouling that the surface is exposed to based on at least the environmental data (see claim 28);
identifying a level of risk of fouling on the surface of the vessel by determining a fouling risk value using the fouling protection value and the fouling value (see claim 28); and
identifying high risk fouling conditions by determining that the fouling risk value exceeds a predetermined threshold (see claim 28), and in response, outputting a control signal to:
a hull inspection device of the hull cleaning robot to initiate inspection of the surface of the vessel (see claim 28); or
a cleaning device of the hull cleaning robot to initiate cleaning of the surface of the vessel (see claim 28); or
a remote device to alert a user to the high risk fouling conditions, and in response to receiving user confirmation that action is to be taken, the method further comprising outputting a further control signal to (i) a hull inspection device of the hull cleaning robot to initiate inspection of the surface of the vessel; or (ii) a cleaning device of the hull cleaning robot to initiate cleaning of the surface of the vessel (see claim 28).
Regarding Claim 41
'072 recites a hull cleaning robot configured to clean the hull of a vessel (see claim 29), the cleaning robot comprising a processor configured to:
retrieve environmental data from memory of the computing device, the environmental data associated with environment conditions of the vessel (see claim 29);
determine a fouling protection value defining a tolerance to fouling associated with a surface of the vessel (see claim 29);
determine a fouling value indicative of a level of fouling that the surface is exposed to based on at least the environmental data (see claim 29);
identify a level of risk of fouling on the surface of the vessel by determining a fouling risk value using the fouling protection value and the fouling value (see claim 29); and
identify high risk fouling conditions by determining that the fouling risk value exceeds a predetermined threshold, and in response (see claim 29), output a control signal to:
a hull inspection device of the hull cleaning robot to initiate inspection of the surface of the vessel (see claim 29); or
a cleaning device of the hull cleaning robot to initiate cleaning of the surface of the vessel (see claim 29); or
a remote device to alert a user to the high risk fouling conditions, and in response to receiving user confirmation that action is to be taken, the processor configured to output a further control signal to (i) a hull inspection device of the hull cleaning robot to initiate inspection of the surface of the vessel; or (ii) a cleaning device of the hull cleaning robot to initiate cleaning of the surface of the vessel (see claim 29).
This is a provisional nonstatutory double patenting rejection because the patentably indistinct claims have not in fact been patented.
Regarding Claim 7
Claim 7 is are provisionally rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claim 1 of copending Application No. '072 in view of Kato et al. (US 20180211453 A1).
Regarding Claim 7
'072 recites the method of claim 1 (as discussed above in claim 1),
'072 is silent regarding wherein determining the fouling value is further based on operational data associated with the vessel, the operational data comprising a value associated with each of one or more operational parameters, the one or more operational parameters comprising one or more of: (i) a parameter relating to speed over ground of the vessel; (ii) a parameter relating to an activity level of the vessel; (iii) a parameter relating to speed through water of the vessel; (iv) a parameter relating to a draught of the vessel; (v) a parameter relating to a heading of the vessel.
Kato teaches a computer implemented method of dynamically monitoring the cleanliness of a hull of a vessel during a journey of said vessel (see all Figs.; [0001] and [0011]-[0016]), the method performed on a computing device and comprising:
retrieving environmental data from memory of the computing device, the environmental data associated with environment conditions of the vessel (see Figs. 5, 7-10 and 12, all; [0011 "...a parameter acquisition unit for acquiring a parameter relating to an environment in which a vessel is placed..."], [0012 "...it is possible to use a configuration in which the parameter acquisition unit acquires water temperature and vessel speed as the parameters..."], [0033], [0060 "Among these parameters, the water temperature, vessel speed, and position are used as parameters that have an influence on the fouling risk of the vessel body in the present embodiment."] and [0098]-[0101]);
determining a fouling protection value defining a tolerance to fouling associated with a surface of the vessel (see Figs. 11 and 13, "paint film thickness remaining amount" and "resistance increase amount index value"; [0005 "If all of the anti-fouling agent in the anti-fouling paint covering the vessel dissolves, foreign matter such as organisms will rapidly attach to the vessel body..."], [0012 ..."the first index value and the second index value indicate decrease amounts of an anti-fouling paint on the water contacting surface of the vessel or an anti-fouling component contained in the anti-fouling paint."], [0014], [0053 "In the present embodiment, an index value indicating a remaining amount of an anti-fouling paint or an anti-fouling component contained in the anti-fouling paint (hereinafter referred to as “paint remaining amount”), and an index value indicating a degree of influence (hereinafter referred to as “resistance increase amount”) that fouling of the vessel body has on an increase in resistance that occurs during a voyage of the vessel (hereinafter simply referred to as “resistance”) are used as the index values for the fouling risk of the vessel."] and [0094]-[0097]);
determining a fouling value indicative of a level of fouling that the surface is exposed to based on at least the environmental data (see Figs. 7 and 12, all; [0060 "Examples of the parameters acquired by parameter acquisition unit 111 include deadweight, wind speed, tidal speed, water temperature, vessel speed, position of vessel 8 (hereinafter simply referred to as “position”), and fuel consumption per unit time. Among these parameters, the water temperature, vessel speed, and position are used as parameters that have an influence on the fouling risk of the vessel body in the present embodiment."], [0066], [0080]-[0084], [0098 "FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a fouling factor display screen displayed by terminal apparatus 11 or terminal apparatus 13 in accordance with data transmitted from server apparatus 12. Histograms for the water temperature, vessel speed, and attachment strength are displayed for the period from the day when coating with the anti-fouling paint was last performed on vessel 8 to the current time are displayed on the fouling factor display screen."]-[0100 "...can survey the strength and weakness of factors that have an influence on the fouling of the vessel in the environment in which a voyage of vessel 8 is performed."] and [0123]); and
identifying a level of risk of fouling on the surface of the vessel by determining a fouling risk value using the fouling protection value and the fouling value (see Fig. 11-13, all; [0005 "If all of the anti-fouling agent in the anti-fouling paint covering the vessel dissolves, foreign matter such as organisms will rapidly attach to the vessel body...Accordingly, a company that operates the vessel or the like needs to add a coat of the anti-fouling paint to the vessel body before all of the anti-fouling agent dissolves."], [0048]-[0051], [0053 "Server apparatus 12 specifies index values indicating fouling risk based on parameters transmitted from terminal apparatus 11 and accumulates them. In the present embodiment, an index value indicating a remaining amount of an anti-fouling paint or an anti-fouling component contained in the anti-fouling paint (hereinafter referred to as “paint remaining amount”), and an index value indicating a degree of influence (hereinafter referred to as “resistance increase amount”) that fouling of the vessel body has on an increase in resistance that occurs during a voyage of the vessel (hereinafter simply referred to as “resistance”) are used as the index values for the fouling risk of the vessel."], [0060 "Among these parameters, the water temperature, vessel speed, and position are used as parameters that have an influence on the fouling risk of the vessel body in the present embodiment."], [0106] and [0125]-[0126 "For example, a configuration may be employed in which server apparatus 12 calculates the index values for the fouling risk of the vessel body based on the histograms displayed on the fouling factor display screen (FIG. 12) .... The index value calculated in this manner does not directly indicate the paint remaining amount and the resistance increase amount, but indicates how high the likelihood is that the vessel body has been fouled."]).
wherein determining the fouling value is further based on operational data associated with the vessel, the operational data comprising a value associated with each of one or more operational parameters, the one or more operational parameters comprising one or more of: (i) a parameter relating to speed over ground of the vessel; (ii) a parameter relating to an activity level of the vessel; (iii) a parameter relating to speed through water of the vessel (see Figs. 10 and 12, all; [0012 "...it is possible to use a configuration in which the parameter acquisition unit acquires water temperature and vessel speed as the parameters..."], [0033], [0060 "Among these parameters, the water temperature, vessel speed, and position are used as parameters that have an influence on the fouling risk of the vessel body in the present embodiment."] and [0076]-[0081]).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the process of '072 to further determine the fouling value based on operational data comprising a value associated with each of one or more operational parameters comprising one or more of: (i) a parameter relating to speed over ground of the vessel; (ii) a parameter relating to an activity level of the vessel; or (iii) a parameter relating to speed through water of the vessel, as taught by Kato, in order to factor in vessel speed as a parameter for more accurately determining the fouling value.
This is a provisional nonstatutory double patenting rejection.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
The factual inquiries 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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 1, 3, 7, 10, 30, 32 and 38-41 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kato et al. (US 20180211453 A1 and Kato hereinafter), in view of Oftedahl (WO 2020207791 A1 and Oftedahl hereinafter).
Regarding Claim 1
Kato teaches a computer implemented method of dynamically monitoring the cleanliness of a hull of a vessel during a journey of said vessel (see all Figs.; [0001] and [0011]-[0016]), the method performed on a computing device and comprising:
retrieving environmental data from memory of the computing device, the environmental data associated with environment conditions of the vessel (see Figs. 5, 7-10 and 12, all; [0011 "...a parameter acquisition unit for acquiring a parameter relating to an environment in which a vessel is placed..."], [0012 "...it is possible to use a configuration in which the parameter acquisition unit acquires water temperature and vessel speed as the parameters..."], [0033], [0060 "Among these parameters, the water temperature, vessel speed, and position are used as parameters that have an influence on the fouling risk of the vessel body in the present embodiment."] and [0098]-[0101]);
determining a fouling protection value defining a tolerance to fouling associated with a surface of the vessel (see Figs. 11 and 13, "paint film thickness remaining amount" and "resistance increase amount index value"; [0005 "If all of the anti-fouling agent in the anti-fouling paint covering the vessel dissolves, foreign matter such as organisms will rapidly attach to the vessel body..."], [0012 ..."the first index value and the second index value indicate decrease amounts of an anti-fouling paint on the water contacting surface of the vessel or an anti-fouling component contained in the anti-fouling paint."], [0014], [0053 "In the present embodiment, an index value indicating a remaining amount of an anti-fouling paint or an anti-fouling component contained in the anti-fouling paint (hereinafter referred to as “paint remaining amount”), and an index value indicating a degree of influence (hereinafter referred to as “resistance increase amount”) that fouling of the vessel body has on an increase in resistance that occurs during a voyage of the vessel (hereinafter simply referred to as “resistance”) are used as the index values for the fouling risk of the vessel."] and [0094]-[0097]);
determining a fouling value indicative of a level of fouling that the surface is exposed to based on at least the environmental data (see Figs. 7 and 12, all; [0060 "Examples of the parameters acquired by parameter acquisition unit 111 include deadweight, wind speed, tidal speed, water temperature, vessel speed, position of vessel 8 (hereinafter simply referred to as “position”), and fuel consumption per unit time. Among these parameters, the water temperature, vessel speed, and position are used as parameters that have an influence on the fouling risk of the vessel body in the present embodiment."], [0066], [0080]-[0084], [0098 "FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a fouling factor display screen displayed by terminal apparatus 11 or terminal apparatus 13 in accordance with data transmitted from server apparatus 12. Histograms for the water temperature, vessel speed, and attachment strength are displayed for the period from the day when coating with the anti-fouling paint was last performed on vessel 8 to the current time are displayed on the fouling factor display screen."]-[0100 "...can survey the strength and weakness of factors that have an influence on the fouling of the vessel in the environment in which a voyage of vessel 8 is performed."] and [0123]); and
identifying a level of risk of fouling on the surface of the vessel by determining a fouling risk value using the fouling protection value and the fouling value (see Fig. 11-13, all; [0005 "If all of the anti-fouling agent in the anti-fouling paint covering the vessel dissolves, foreign matter such as organisms will rapidly attach to the vessel body...Accordingly, a company that operates the vessel or the like needs to add a coat of the anti-fouling paint to the vessel body before all of the anti-fouling agent dissolves."], [0048]-[0051], [0053 "Server apparatus 12 specifies index values indicating fouling risk based on parameters transmitted from terminal apparatus 11 and accumulates them. In the present embodiment, an index value indicating a remaining amount of an anti-fouling paint or an anti-fouling component contained in the anti-fouling paint (hereinafter referred to as “paint remaining amount”), and an index value indicating a degree of influence (hereinafter referred to as “resistance increase amount”) that fouling of the vessel body has on an increase in resistance that occurs during a voyage of the vessel (hereinafter simply referred to as “resistance”) are used as the index values for the fouling risk of the vessel."], [0060 "Among these parameters, the water temperature, vessel speed, and position are used as parameters that have an influence on the fouling risk of the vessel body in the present embodiment."], [0106] and [0125]-[0126 "For example, a configuration may be employed in which server apparatus 12 calculates the index values for the fouling risk of the vessel body based on the histograms displayed on the fouling factor display screen (FIG. 12) .... The index value calculated in this manner does not directly indicate the paint remaining amount and the resistance increase amount, but indicates how high the likelihood is that the vessel body has been fouled."]).
Kato is silent regarding identifying high risk fouling conditions by determining that the fouling risk value exceeds a predetermined threshold, and in response outputting a control signal to:
a remotely operated underwater vehicle or a hull cleaning robot configured to clean the hull of the vessel, to initiate inspection of the surface of the vessel: or
a hull cleaning robot configured to clean the hull of the vessel, to initiate cleaning of the surface of the vessel: or
an output device of the computing device, or a remote device, to alert a user to the high risk fouling conditions, and in response to receiving user confirmation that action is to be taken, the method further comprising outputting a further control signal to (i) a remotely operated underwater vehicle or a hull cleaning robot configured to clean the hull of the vessel, to initiate inspection of the surface of the vessel: or (ii) a hull cleaning robot configured to clean the hull of the vessel, to initiate cleaning of the surface of the vessel.
Oftedahl teaches a computer implemented method of dynamically monitoring the cleanliness of a hull of a vessel during a journey of said vessel (see all Figs.; Page 3, lines 6-27; see the corresponding paragraphs in the attached reference WO_2020207791_A1), the method performed on a computing device and comprising:
retrieving environmental data from memory of the computing device, the environmental data associated with environment conditions of the vessel (see Page 5, lines 11-29, especially "…calculating a fouling risk value based on receiving a signal indicative of a risk of fouling on the hull of the vessel…The signal indicative of fouling on the hull of the vessel may comprise information on one or more of: (i) an amount of chlorophyll in an aquatic environment of the vessel; (ii) a pH level of the aquatic environment..."; Page 13, lines 1-17);
determining a fouling value indicative of a level of fouling that the surface is exposed to based on at least the environmental data (see Page 5, lines 11-29, especially "…calculating a fouling risk value based on receiving a signal indicative of a risk of fouling on the hull of the vessel…The signal indicative of fouling on the hull of the vessel may comprise information on one or more of: (i) an amount of chlorophyll in an aquatic environment of the vessel; (ii) a pH level of the aquatic environment..."; Page 13, lines 1-17);
identifying a level of risk of fouling on the surface of the vessel by determining a fouling risk value using the fouling value (see Page 5, lines 11-20, especially "…calculating a fouling risk value based on receiving a signal indicative of a risk of fouling on the hull of the vessel…determining that the fouling risk value has increased above the predetermined threshold..."; Page 12, lines 33-34); and
identifying high risk fouling conditions by determining that the fouling risk value exceeds a predetermined threshold (see Fig. 4, steps S410-S412; Page 5, lines 11-20, especially "...determining that the fouling risk value has increased above the predetermined threshold, and in response, outputting the restart cleaning signal indicating that cleaning by the robot is to be restarted."; Page 21, lines 20-24), and in response outputting a control signal to:
a remotely operated underwater vehicle or a hull cleaning robot configured to clean the hull of the vessel (see Fig. 4, steps S410-S412; Page 5, lines 11-20, especially "...determining that the fouling risk value has increased above the predetermined threshold, and in response, outputting the restart cleaning signal indicating that cleaning by the robot is to be restarted."; Page 21, lines 20-24): or
a hull cleaning robot configured to clean the hull of the vessel, to initiate cleaning of the surface of the vessel (see Fig. 4, steps S410-S412; Page 5, lines 11-20, especially "...determining that the fouling risk value has increased above the predetermined threshold, and in response, outputting the restart cleaning signal indicating that cleaning by the robot is to be restarted."; Page 21, lines 20-24): or
an output device of the computing device, or a remote device, to alert a user to the high risk fouling conditions, and in response to receiving user confirmation that action is to be taken (see Page 6, lines 1-6 and 18-22; Page 14, line 33 - Page 15, line 5, "The monitoring module 206 is further configured to detect that cleaning performed by the robot is to be restarted based on these input signals and output a restart cleaning signal to the remote computing device 106 for validation by the user of the remote computing device 106. If the user of the remote computing device 106 confirms that the cleaning being performed by the robot is to be restarted, the user makes an appropriate input into the remote computing device 106 causing a restart cleaning signal to be output from the remote computing device 106 to the cleaning module 204 on the robot 102."), the method further comprising outputting a further control signal to (i) a remotely operated underwater vehicle or a hull cleaning robot configured to clean the hull of the vessel (see Fig. 4, steps S410-S412; Page 5, lines 11-20, especially "...determining that the fouling risk value has increased above the predetermined threshold, and in response, outputting the restart cleaning signal indicating that cleaning by the robot is to be restarted."; Page 14, line 33 - Page 15, line 5; Page 21, lines 20-24): or (ii) a hull cleaning robot configured to clean the hull of the vessel, to initiate cleaning of the surface of the vessel (see Fig. 4, steps S410-S412; Page 5, lines 11-20, especially "...determining that the fouling risk value has increased above the predetermined threshold, and in response, outputting the restart cleaning signal indicating that cleaning by the robot is to be restarted."; Page 14, line 33 - Page 15, line 5; Page 21, lines 20-24).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the process of Kato to further identify high risk fouling conditions by determining that the fouling risk value exceeds a predetermined threshold and in response output a control signal to a hull cleaning robot to initiate cleaning of the surface of the vessel, as taught by Oftedahl, in order to automatically clean the vessel with a robot when the fouling risk value is high.
Regarding Claim 3
Modified Kato teaches the method of claim 1 (as discussed above in claim 1),
Kato further teaches wherein the environmental data comprises a value associated with each of one or more environmental parameters (see Figs. 5, 7-10 and 12, all; [0011 "...a parameter acquisition unit for acquiring a parameter relating to an environment in which a vessel is placed..."], [0012 "...it is possible to use a configuration in which the parameter acquisition unit acquires water temperature and vessel speed as the parameters..."], [0033], [0060 "Among these parameters, the water temperature, vessel speed, and position are used as parameters that have an influence on the fouling risk of the vessel body in the present embodiment."] and [0098]-[0101]).
Regarding Claim 7
Modified Kato teaches the method of claim 1 (as discussed above in claim 1),
Kato further teaches wherein determining the fouling value is further based on operational data associated with the vessel, the operational data comprising a value associated with each of one or more operational parameters, the one or more operational parameters comprising one or more of: (i) a parameter relating to speed over ground of the vessel; (ii) a parameter relating to an activity level of the vessel; (iii) a parameter relating to speed through water of the vessel (see Figs. 10 and 12, all; [0012 "...it is possible to use a configuration in which the parameter acquisition unit acquires water temperature and vessel speed as the parameters..."], [0033], [0060 "Among these parameters, the water temperature, vessel speed, and position are used as parameters that have an influence on the fouling risk of the vessel body in the present embodiment."] and [0076]-[0081]).
Regarding Claim 10
Modified Kato teaches the method of claim 1 (as discussed above in claim 1),
Kato is silent regarding further comprising identifying high risk fouling conditions by determining that the fouling risk value exceeds a predetermined threshold, and in response outputting a control signal.
Oftedahl teaches further comprising identifying high risk fouling conditions by determining that the fouling risk value exceeds a predetermined threshold, and in response outputting a control signal (see Fig. 4, steps S410-S412; Page 5, lines 11-20, especially "...determining that the fouling risk value has increased above the predetermined threshold, and in response, outputting the restart cleaning signal indicating that cleaning by the robot is to be restarted."; Page 21, lines 20-24).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to further modify the process of modified Kato to identify high risk fouling conditions by determining that the fouling risk value exceeds a predetermined threshold, and in response outputting a control signal, as taught by Oftedahl, in order to automatically clean the vessel with a robot when the fouling risk value is high.
Regarding Claim 30
Modified Kato teaches the method of claim 1 (as discussed above in claim 1),
Kato further teaches wherein the fouling protection value is determined based on a value defining an attractiveness of the surface to fouling (see Figs. 11 and 13, "paint film thickness remaining amount"; [0003 "The water contacting surface of the vessel is coated with an anti-fouling paint in order to prevent or suppress attachment of organisms and the like to the water contacting surface of the vessel. An anti-fouling agent contained in an anti-fouling paint for vessels that is widely used dissolves in water and thereby generates copper ions, which organisms dislike, thereby suppressing attachment of the organisms."], [0005 "If all of the anti-fouling agent in the anti-fouling paint covering the vessel dissolves, foreign matter such as organisms will rapidly attach to the vessel body..."], [0012]-[0014], [0053 "In the present embodiment, an index value indicating a remaining amount of an anti-fouling paint or an anti-fouling component contained in the anti-fouling paint (hereinafter referred to as “paint remaining amount”) ... are used as the index values for the fouling risk of the vessel."] and [0094]-[0097]).
Regarding Claim 32
Modified Kato teaches the method of claim 1 (as discussed above in claim 1),
Kato further teaches wherein the fouling protection value is determined based on a value defining an effect, on the surface, of water moving over said surface (see Fig. 7, all; [0012 "...it is possible to use a configuration in which the parameter acquisition unit acquires water temperature and vessel speed as the parameters, and the first index value and the second index value indicate decrease amounts of an anti-fouling paint on the water contacting surface of the vessel or an anti-fouling component contained in the anti-fouling paint.", [0060], [0066 "For example, a second record in the paint decrease amount master table illustrated in FIG. 7 indicates that the film thickness of the anti-fouling paint decreases at a speed of 0.037 mm per day if vessel 8 voyages at a vessel speed of 1 knot in water with a water temperature of 10° C."] and [0098]-[0101]).
Regarding Claim 38
Kato teaches a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions which (see [0024]),
Modified Kato further teaches when executed by a processor of a computing device, cause the processor to carry out the method of claim 1 (as discussed above in claim 1).
Regarding Claim 39
Kato teaches a computing device for dynamically monitoring the cleanliness of a hull of a vessel during a journey of said vessel (see all Figs.; [0001] and [0011]-[0016]), the computing device comprising a processor configured to:
retrieve environmental data from memory of the computing device, the environmental data associated with environment conditions of the vessel (see Figs. 5, 7-10 and 12, all; [0011 "...a parameter acquisition unit for acquiring a parameter relating to an environment in which a vessel is placed..."], [0012 "...it is possible to use a configuration in which the parameter acquisition unit acquires water temperature and vessel speed as the parameters..."], [0033], [0060 "Among these parameters, the water temperature, vessel speed, and position are used as parameters that have an influence on the fouling risk of the vessel body in the present embodiment."] and [0098]-[0101]);
determine a fouling protection value defining a tolerance to fouling associated with a surface of the vessel (see Figs. 11 and 13, "paint film thickness remaining amount" and "resistance increase amount index value"; [0005 "If all of the anti-fouling agent in the anti-fouling paint covering the vessel dissolves, foreign matter such as organisms will rapidly attach to the vessel body..."], [0012 ..."the first index value and the second index value indicate decrease amounts of an anti-fouling paint on the water contacting surface of the vessel or an anti-fouling component contained in the anti-fouling paint."], [0014], [0053 "In the present embodiment, an index value indicating a remaining amount of an anti-fouling paint or an anti-fouling component contained in the anti-fouling paint (hereinafter referred to as “paint remaining amount”), and an index value indicating a degree of influence (hereinafter referred to as “resistance increase amount”) that fouling of the vessel body has on an increase in resistance that occurs during a voyage of the vessel (hereinafter simply referred to as “resistance”) are used as the index values for the fouling risk of the vessel."] and [0094]-[0097]);
determine a fouling value indicative of a level of fouling that the surface is exposed to based on at least the environmental data (see Figs. 7 and 12, all; [0060 "Examples of the parameters acquired by parameter acquisition unit 111 include deadweight, wind speed, tidal speed, water temperature, vessel speed, position of vessel 8 (hereinafter simply referred to as “position”), and fuel consumption per unit time. Among these parameters, the water temperature, vessel speed, and position are used as parameters that have an influence on the fouling risk of the vessel body in the present embodiment."], [0066], [0080]-[0084], [0098 "FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a fouling factor display screen displayed by terminal apparatus 11 or terminal apparatus 13 in accordance with data transmitted from server apparatus 12. Histograms for the water temperature, vessel speed, and attachment strength are displayed for the period from the day when coating with the anti-fouling paint was last performed on vessel 8 to the current time are displayed on the fouling factor display screen."]-[0100 "...can survey the strength and weakness of factors that have an influence on the fouling of the vessel in the environment in which a voyage of vessel 8 is performed."] and [0123]); and
identify a level of risk of fouling on the surface of the vessel by determining a fouling risk value using the fouling protection value and the fouling value (see Fig. 11-13, all; [0005 "If all of the anti-fouling agent in the anti-fouling paint covering the vessel dissolves, foreign matter such as organisms will rapidly attach to the vessel body...Accordingly, a company that operates the vessel or the like needs to add a coat of the anti-fouling paint to the vessel body before all of the anti-fouling agent dissolves."], [0048]-[0051], [0053 "Server apparatus 12 specifies index values indicating fouling risk based on parameters transmitted from terminal apparatus 11 and accumulates them. In the present embodiment, an index value indicating a remaining amount of an anti-fouling paint or an anti-fouling component contained in the anti-fouling paint (hereinafter referred to as “paint remaining amount”), and an index value indicating a degree of influence (hereinafter referred to as “resistance increase amount”) that fouling of the vessel body has on an increase in resistance that occurs during a voyage of the vessel (hereinafter simply referred to as “resistance”) are used as the index values for the fouling risk of the vessel."], [0060 "Among these parameters, the water temperature, vessel speed, and position are used as parameters that have an influence on the fouling risk of the vessel body in the present embodiment."], [0106] and [0125]-[0126 "For example, a configuration may be employed in which server apparatus 12 calculates the index values for the fouling risk of the vessel body based on the histograms displayed on the fouling factor display screen (FIG. 12) .... The index value calculated in this manner does not directly indicate the paint remaining amount and the resistance increase amount, but indicates how high the likelihood is that the vessel body has been fouled."]).
Kato is silent regarding identify high risk fouling conditions by determining that the fouling risk value exceeds a predetermined threshold, and in response, output a control signal to:
a remotely operated underwater vehicle or a hull cleaning robot configured to clean the hull of the vessel, to initiate inspection of the surface of the vessel; or
a hull cleaning robot configured to clean the hull of the vessel, to initiate cleaning of the surface of the vessel; or
an output device of the computing device, or a remote device, to alert a user to the high risk fouling conditions, and in response to receiving user confirmation that action is to be taken, the processor configured to output a further control signal to (i) a remotely operated underwater vehicle or a hull cleaning robot configured to clean the hull of the vessel, to initiate inspection of the surface of the vessel; or (ii) a hull cleaning robot configured to clean the hull of the vessel, to initiate cleaning of the surface of the vessel.
Oftedahl teaches a computing device for dynamically monitoring the cleanliness of a hull of a vessel during a journey of said vessel (see all Figs.; Page 3, lines 6-27), the computing device comprising a processor configured to:
retrieve environmental data from memory of the computing device, the environmental data associated with environment conditions of the vessel (see Page 5, lines 11-29, especially "…calculating a fouling risk value based on receiving a signal indicative of a risk of fouling on the hull of the vessel…The signal indicative of fouling on the hull of the vessel may comprise information on one or more of: (i) an amount of chlorophyll in an aquatic environment of the vessel; (ii) a pH level of the aquatic environment..."; Page 13, lines 1-17);
determine a fouling value indicative of a level of fouling that the surface is exposed to based on at least the environmental data (see Page 5, lines 11-29, especially "…calculating a fouling risk value based on receiving a signal indicative of a risk of fouling on the hull of the vessel…The signal indicative of fouling on the hull of the vessel may comprise information on one or more of: (i) an amount of chlorophyll in an aquatic environment of the vessel; (ii) a pH level of the aquatic environment..."; Page 13, lines 1-17);
identify a level of risk of fouling on the surface of the vessel by determining a fouling risk value using the fouling value (see Page 5, lines 11-20, especially "…calculating a fouling risk value based on receiving a signal indicative of a risk of fouling on the hull of the vessel…determining that the fouling risk value has increased above the predetermined threshold..."; Page 12, lines 33-34); and
identify high risk fouling conditions by determining that the fouling risk value exceeds a predetermined threshold (see Fig. 4, steps S410-S412; Page 5, lines 11-20, especially "...determining that the fouling risk value has increased above the predetermined threshold, and in response, outputting the restart cleaning signal indicating that cleaning by the robot is to be restarted."; Page 21, lines 20-24), and in response, output a control signal to:
a remotely operated underwater vehicle or a hull cleaning robot configured to clean the hull of the vessel (see Fig. 4, steps S410-S412; Page 5, lines 11-20, especially "...determining that the fouling risk value has increased above the predetermined threshold, and in response, outputting the restart cleaning signal indicating that cleaning by the robot is to be restarted."; Page 21, lines 20-24): or
a hull cleaning robot configured to clean the hull of the vessel, to initiate cleaning of the surface of the vessel (see Fig. 4, steps S410-S412; Page 5, lines 11-20, especially "...determining that the fouling risk value has increased above the predetermined threshold, and in response, outputting the restart cleaning signal indicating that cleaning by the robot is to be restarted."; Page 21, lines 20-24): or
an output device of the computing device, or a remote device, to alert a user to the high risk fouling conditions, and in response to receiving user confirmation that action is to be taken (see Page 6, lines 1-6 and 18-22; Page 14, line 33 - Page 15, line 5, "The monitoring module 206 is further configured to detect that cleaning performed by the robot is to be restarted based on these input signals and output a restart cleaning signal to the remote computing device 106 for validation by the user of the remote computing device 106. If the user of the remote computing device 106 confirms that the cleaning being performed by the robot is to be restarted, the user makes an appropriate input into the remote computing device 106 causing a restart cleaning signal to be output from the remote computing device 106 to the cleaning module 204 on the robot 102."), the processor configured to output a further control signal to (i) a remotely operated underwater vehicle or a hull cleaning robot configured to clean the hull of the vessel (see Fig. 4, steps S410-S412; Page 5, lines 11-20, especially "...determining that the fouling risk value has increased above the predetermined threshold, and in response, outputting the restart cleaning signal indicating that cleaning by the robot is to be restarted."; Page 14, line 33 - Page 15, line 5; Page 21, lines 20-24): or (ii) a hull cleaning robot configured to clean the hull of the vessel, to initiate cleaning of the surface of the vessel (see Fig. 4, steps S410-S412; Page 5, lines 11-20, especially "...determining that the fouling risk value has increased above the predetermined threshold, and in response, outputting the restart cleaning signal indicating that cleaning by the robot is to be restarted."; Page 14, line 33 - Page 15, line 5; Page 21, lines 20-24).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the computing device of Kato to further identify high risk fouling conditions by determining that the fouling risk value exceeds a predetermined threshold and in response output a control signal to a hull cleaning robot to initiate cleaning of the surface of the vessel, as taught by Oftedahl, in order to automatically clean the vessel with a robot when the fouling risk value is high.
Regarding Claim 40
Kato teaches a computer implemented method of dynamically monitoring the cleanliness of a hull of a vessel during a journey of said vessel, the method performed on a hull cleaning robot configured to clean the hull of the vessel (see all Figs.; [0001] and [0011]-[0016]), and comprising:
retrieving environmental data from memory of the computing device, the environmental data associated with environment conditions of the vessel (see Figs. 5, 7-10 and 12, all; [0011 "...a parameter acquisition unit for acquiring a parameter relating to an environment in which a vessel is placed..."], [0012 "...it is possible to use a configuration in which the parameter acquisition unit acquires water temperature and vessel speed as the parameters..."], [0033], [0060 "Among these parameters, the water temperature, vessel speed, and position are used as parameters that have an influence on the fouling risk of the vessel body in the present embodiment."] and [0098]-[0101]);
determining a fouling protection value defining a tolerance to fouling associated with a surface of the vessel (see Figs. 11 and 13, "paint film thickness remaining amount" and "resistance increase amount index value"; [0005 "If all of the anti-fouling agent in the anti-fouling paint covering the vessel dissolves, foreign matter such as organisms will rapidly attach to the vessel body..."], [0012 ..."the first index value and the second index value indicate decrease amounts of an anti-fouling paint on the water contacting surface of the vessel or an anti-fouling component contained in the anti-fouling paint."], [0014], [0053 "In the present embodiment, an index value indicating a remaining amount of an anti-fouling paint or an anti-fouling component contained in the anti-fouling paint (hereinafter referred to as “paint remaining amount”), and an index value indicating a degree of influence (hereinafter referred to as “resistance increase amount”) that fouling of the vessel body has on an increase in resistance that occurs during a voyage of the vessel (hereinafter simply referred to as “resistance”) are used as the index values for the fouling risk of the vessel."] and [0094]-[0097]);
determining a fouling value indicative of a level of fouling that the surface is exposed to based on at least the environmental data (see Figs. 7 and 12, all; [0060 "Examples of the parameters acquired by parameter acquisition unit 111 include deadweight, wind speed, tidal speed, water temperature, vessel speed, position of vessel 8 (hereinafter simply referred to as “position”), and fuel consumption per unit time. Among these parameters, the water temperature, vessel speed, and position are used as parameters that have an influence on the fouling risk of the vessel body in the present embodiment."], [0066], [0080]-[0084], [0098 "FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a fouling factor display screen displayed by terminal apparatus 11 or terminal apparatus 13 in accordance with data transmitted from server apparatus 12. Histograms for the water temperature, vessel speed, and attachment strength are displayed for the period from the day when coating with the anti-fouling paint was last performed on vessel 8 to the current time are displayed on the fouling factor display screen."]-[0100 "...can survey the strength and weakness of factors that have an influence on the fouling of the vessel in the environment in which a voyage of vessel 8 is performed."] and [0123]); and
identifying a level of risk of fouling on the surface of the vessel by determining a fouling risk value using the fouling protection value and the fouling value (see Fig. 11-13, all; [0005 "If all of the anti-fouling agent in the anti-fouling paint covering the vessel dissolves, foreign matter such as organisms will rapidly attach to the vessel body...Accordingly, a company that operates the vessel or the like needs to add a coat of the anti-fouling paint to the vessel body before all of the anti-fouling agent dissolves."], [0048]-[0051], [0053 "Server apparatus 12 specifies index values indicating fouling risk based on parameters transmitted from terminal apparatus 11 and accumulates them. In the present embodiment, an index value indicating a remaining amount of an anti-fouling paint or an anti-fouling component contained in the anti-fouling paint (hereinafter referred to as “paint remaining amount”), and an index value indicating a degree of influence (hereinafter referred to as “resistance increase amount”) that fouling of the vessel body has on an increase in resistance that occurs during a voyage of the vessel (hereinafter simply referred to as “resistance”) are used as the index values for the fouling risk of the vessel."], [0060 "Among these parameters, the water temperature, vessel speed, and position are used as parameters that have an influence on the fouling risk of the vessel body in the present embodiment."], [0106] and [0125]-[0126 "For example, a configuration may be employed in which server apparatus 12 calculates the index values for the fouling risk of the vessel body based on the histograms displayed on the fouling factor display screen (FIG. 12) .... The index value calculated in this manner does not directly indicate the paint remaining amount and the resistance increase amount, but indicates how high the likelihood is that the vessel body has been fouled."]).
Kato is silent regarding identifying high risk fouling conditions by determining that the fouling risk value exceeds a predetermined threshold, and in response, outputting a control signal to:
a hull inspection device of the hull cleaning robot to initiate inspection of the surface of the vessel; or
a cleaning device of the hull cleaning robot to initiate cleaning of the surface of the vessel; or
a remote device to alert a user to the high risk fouling conditions, and in response to receiving user confirmation that action is to be taken, the method further comprising outputting a further control signal to (i) a hull inspection device of the hull cleaning robot to initiate inspection of the surface of the vessel; or (ii) a cleaning device of the hull cleaning robot to initiate cleaning of the surface of the vessel.
Oftedahl teaches a computer implemented method of dynamically monitoring the cleanliness of a hull of a vessel during a journey of said vessel (see all Figs.; Page 3, lines 6-27), the method performed on a hull cleaning robot configured to clean the hull of the vessel, and comprising:
retrieving environmental data from memory of the computing device, the environmental data associated with environment conditions of the vessel (see Page 5, lines 11-29, especially "…calculating a fouling risk value based on receiving a signal indicative of a risk of fouling on the hull of the vessel…The signal indicative of fouling on the hull of the vessel may comprise information on one or more of: (i) an amount of chlorophyll in an aquatic environment of the vessel; (ii) a pH level of the aquatic environment..."; Page 13, lines 1-17);
determining a fouling value indicative of a level of fouling that the surface is exposed to based on at least the environmental data (see Page 5, lines 11-29, especially "…calculating a fouling risk value based on receiving a signal indicative of a risk of fouling on the hull of the vessel…The signal indicative of fouling on the hull of the vessel may comprise information on one or more of: (i) an amount of chlorophyll in an aquatic environment of the vessel; (ii) a pH level of the aquatic environment..."; Page 13, lines 1-17);
identifying a level of risk of fouling on the surface of the vessel by determining a fouling risk value using the fouling value (see Page 5, lines 11-20, especially "…calculating a fouling risk value based on receiving a signal indicative of a risk of fouling on the hull of the vessel…determining that the fouling risk value has increased above the predetermined threshold..."; Page 12, lines 33-34); and
identifying high risk fouling conditions by determining that the fouling risk value exceeds a predetermined threshold (see Fig. 4, steps S410-S412; Page 5, lines 11-20, especially "...determining that the fouling risk value has increased above the predetermined threshold, and in response, outputting the restart cleaning signal indicating that cleaning by the robot is to be restarted."; Page 21, lines 20-24), and in response, outputting a control signal to:
a cleaning device of the hull cleaning robot to initiate cleaning of the surface of the vessel (see Fig. 4, steps S410-S412; Page 5, lines 11-20, especially "...determining that the fouling risk value has increased above the predetermined threshold, and in response, outputting the restart cleaning signal indicating that cleaning by the robot is to be restarted."; Page 21, lines 20-24); or
a remote device to alert a user to the high risk fouling conditions, and in response to receiving user confirmation that action is to be taken (see Page 6, lines 1-6 and 18-22; Page 14, line 33 - Page 15, line 5, "The monitoring module 206 is further configured to detect that cleaning performed by the robot is to be restarted based on these input signals and output a restart cleaning signal to the remote computing device 106 for validation by the user of the remote computing device 106. If the user of the remote computing device 106 confirms that the cleaning being performed by the robot is to be restarted, the user makes an appropriate input into the remote computing device 106 causing a restart cleaning signal to be output from the remote computing device 106 to the cleaning module 204 on the robot 102."), the method further comprising outputting a further control signal to (ii) a cleaning device of the hull cleaning robot to initiate cleaning of the surface of the vessel (see Fig. 4, steps S410-S412; Page 5, lines 11-20, especially "...determining that the fouling risk value has increased above the predetermined threshold, and in response, outputting the restart cleaning signal indicating that cleaning by the robot is to be restarted."; Page 14, line 33 - Page 15, line 5; Page 21, lines 20-24).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the process of Kato to further identify high risk fouling conditions by determining that the fouling risk value exceeds a predetermined threshold and in response output a control signal to a cleaning device of the hull cleaning robot to initiate cleaning of the surface of the vessel, as taught by Oftedahl, in order to automatically clean the vessel with a robot when the fouling risk value is high.
Regarding Claim 41
Kato teaches a hull cleaning robot configured to clean the hull of a vessel (see all Figs.; [0001] and [0011]-[0016]), the cleaning robot comprising a processor configured to:
retrieve environmental data from memory of the computing device, the environmental data associated with environment conditions of the vessel (see Figs. 5, 7-10 and 12, all; [0011 "...a parameter acquisition unit for acquiring a parameter relating to an environment in which a vessel is placed..."], [0012 "...it is possible to use a configuration in which the parameter acquisition unit acquires water temperature and vessel speed as the parameters..."], [0033], [0060 "Among these parameters, the water temperature, vessel speed, and position are used as parameters that have an influence on the fouling risk of the vessel body in the present embodiment."] and [0098]-[0101]);
determine a fouling protection value defining a tolerance to fouling associated with a surface of the vessel (see Figs. 11 and 13, "paint film thickness remaining amount" and "resistance increase amount index value"; [0005 "If all of the anti-fouling agent in the anti-fouling paint covering the vessel dissolves, foreign matter such as organisms will rapidly attach to the vessel body..."], [0012 ..."the first index value and the second index value indicate decrease amounts of an anti-fouling paint on the water contacting surface of the vessel or an anti-fouling component contained in the anti-fouling paint."], [0014], [0053 "In the present embodiment, an index value indicating a remaining amount of an anti-fouling paint or an anti-fouling component contained in the anti-fouling paint (hereinafter referred to as “paint remaining amount”), and an index value indicating a degree of influence (hereinafter referred to as “resistance increase amount”) that fouling of the vessel body has on an increase in resistance that occurs during a voyage of the vessel (hereinafter simply referred to as “resistance”) are used as the index values for the fouling risk of the vessel."] and [0094]-[0097]);
determine a fouling value indicative of a level of fouling that the surface is exposed to based on at least the environmental data (see Figs. 7 and 12, all; [0060 "Examples of the parameters acquired by parameter acquisition unit 111 include deadweight, wind speed, tidal speed, water temperature, vessel speed, position of vessel 8 (hereinafter simply referred to as “position”), and fuel consumption per unit time. Among these parameters, the water temperature, vessel speed, and position are used as parameters that have an influence on the fouling risk of the vessel body in the present embodiment."], [0066], [0080]-[0084], [0098 "FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a fouling factor display screen displayed by terminal apparatus 11 or terminal apparatus 13 in accordance with data transmitted from server apparatus 12. Histograms for the water temperature, vessel speed, and attachment strength are displayed for the period from the day when coating with the anti-fouling paint was last performed on vessel 8 to the current time are displayed on the fouling factor display screen."]-[0100 "...can survey the strength and weakness of factors that have an influence on the fouling of the vessel in the environment in which a voyage of vessel 8 is performed."] and [0123]);
identify a level of risk of fouling on the surface of the vessel by determining a fouling risk value using the fouling protection value and the fouling value (see Fig. 11-13, all; [0005 "If all of the anti-fouling agent in the anti-fouling paint covering the vessel dissolves, foreign matter such as organisms will rapidly attach to the vessel body...Accordingly, a company that operates the vessel or the like needs to add a coat of the anti-fouling paint to the vessel body before all of the anti-fouling agent dissolves."], [0048]-[0051], [0053 "Server apparatus 12 specifies index values indicating fouling risk based on parameters transmitted from terminal apparatus 11 and accumulates them. In the present embodiment, an index value indicating a remaining amount of an anti-fouling paint or an anti-fouling component contained in the anti-fouling paint (hereinafter referred to as “paint remaining amount”), and an index value indicating a degree of influence (hereinafter referred to as “resistance increase amount”) that fouling of the vessel body has on an increase in resistance that occurs during a voyage of the vessel (hereinafter simply referred to as “resistance”) are used as the index values for the fouling risk of the vessel."], [0060 "Among these parameters, the water temperature, vessel speed, and position are used as parameters that have an influence on the fouling risk of the vessel body in the present embodiment."], [0106] and [0125]-[0126 "For example, a configuration may be employed in which server apparatus 12 calculates the index values for the fouling risk of the vessel body based on the histograms displayed on the fouling factor display screen (FIG. 12) .... The index value calculated in this manner does not directly indicate the paint remaining amount and the resistance increase amount, but indicates how high the likelihood is that the vessel body has been fouled."]).
Kato is silent regarding identify high risk fouling conditions by determining that the fouling risk value exceeds a predetermined threshold, and in response, output a control signal to:
a hull inspection device of the hull cleaning robot to initiate inspection of the surface of the vessel; or
a cleaning device of the hull cleaning robot to initiate cleaning of the surface of the vessel; or
a remote device to alert a user to the high risk fouling conditions, and in response to receiving user confirmation that action is to be taken, the processor configured to output a further control signal to (i) a hull inspection device of the hull cleaning robot to initiate inspection of the surface of the vessel; or (ii) a cleaning device of the hull cleaning robot to initiate cleaning of the surface of the vessel.
Oftedahl teaches a hull cleaning robot configured to clean the hull of a vessel (see all Figs.; Page 3, lines 6-27), the cleaning robot comprising a processor configured to:
retrieve environmental data from memory of the computing device, the environmental data associated with environment conditions of the vessel (see Page 5, lines 11-29, especially "…calculating a fouling risk value based on receiving a signal indicative of a risk of fouling on the hull of the vessel…The signal indicative of fouling on the hull of the vessel may comprise information on one or more of: (i) an amount of chlorophyll in an aquatic environment of the vessel; (ii) a pH level of the aquatic environment..."; Page 13, lines 1-17);
determine a fouling value indicative of a level of fouling that the surface is exposed to based on at least the environmental data (see Page 5, lines 11-29, especially "…calculating a fouling risk value based on receiving a signal indicative of a risk of fouling on the hull of the vessel…The signal indicative of fouling on the hull of the vessel may comprise information on one or more of: (i) an amount of chlorophyll in an aquatic environment of the vessel; (ii) a pH level of the aquatic environment..."; Page 13, lines 1-17);
identify a level of risk of fouling on the surface of the vessel by determining a fouling risk value using the fouling value (see Page 5, lines 11-20, especially "…calculating a fouling risk value based on receiving a signal indicative of a risk of fouling on the hull of the vessel…determining that the fouling risk value has increased above the predetermined threshold..."; Page 12, lines 33-34); and
identify high risk fouling conditions by determining that the fouling risk value exceeds a predetermined threshold (see Fig. 4, steps S410-S412; Page 5, lines 11-20, especially "...determining that the fouling risk value has increased above the predetermined threshold, and in response, outputting the restart cleaning signal indicating that cleaning by the robot is to be restarted."; Page 21, lines 20-24), and in response, output a control signal to:
a cleaning device of the hull cleaning robot to initiate cleaning of the surface of the vessel (see Fig. 4, steps S410-S412; Page 5, lines 11-20, especially "...determining that the fouling risk value has increased above the predetermined threshold, and in response, outputting the restart cleaning signal indicating that cleaning by the robot is to be restarted."; Page 21, lines 20-24); or
a remote device to alert a user to the high risk fouling conditions, and in response to receiving user confirmation that action is to be taken, the processor configured to output a further control signal to (see Page 6, lines 1-6 and 18-22; Page 14, line 33 - Page 15, line 5, "The monitoring module 206 is further configured to detect that cleaning performed by the robot is to be restarted based on these input signals and output a restart cleaning signal to the remote computing device 106 for validation by the user of the remote computing device 106. If the user of the remote computing device 106 confirms that the cleaning being performed by the robot is to be restarted, the user makes an appropriate input into the remote computing device 106 causing a restart cleaning signal to be output from the remote computing device 106 to the cleaning module 204 on the robot 102." ) (ii) a cleaning device of the hull cleaning robot to initiate cleaning of the surface of the vessel (see Fig. 4, steps S410-S412; Page 5, lines 11-20, especially "...determining that the fouling risk value has increased above the predetermined threshold, and in response, outputting the restart cleaning signal indicating that cleaning by the robot is to be restarted."; Page 14, line 33 - Page 15, line 5; Page 21, lines 20-24).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the hull cleaning robot of Kato to further identify high risk fouling conditions by determining that the fouling risk value exceeds a predetermined threshold and in response output a control signal to a cleaning device of the hull cleaning robot to initiate cleaning of the surface of the vessel, as taught by Oftedahl, in order to automatically clean the vessel with a robot when the fouling risk value is high.
Claims 4, 6 and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kato (as modified by Oftedahl) as applied to claims 1 and 3 above, and further in view of Ramsden et al. (US 20140349024 A1 and Ramsden hereinafter).
Regarding Claim 4
Modified Kato teaches the method of claim 3 (as discussed above in claim 3),
Kato is silent regarding wherein the environmental data relates to a geographical location of the vessel.
Ramsden teaches a computer implemented method of dynamically monitoring the cleanliness of a hull of a vessel during a journey of said vessel (see all Figs.; [0001] and [0010]-[0013]), the method performed on a computing device and comprising:
retrieving environmental data from memory of the computing device, the environmental data associated with environment conditions of the vessel (see Tables 1-2, all; [0009 "...wherein the protective coating is selected on the basis of regions of the environment the vessel is expected to travel and the risks these regions of the environment pose to the deterioration of the protective effect of the protective coating."]-[0011], [0019], [0044]-[0049] and [0079]-[0085]);
determining a fouling value indicative of a level of fouling that the surface is exposed to based on at least the environmental data (see "fouling risk rating" in Tables 1-2; [0009]-[0012], [0019], [0044]-[0049] and [0079]-[0085]);
identifying a level of risk of fouling on the surface of the vessel by determining a fouling risk value using the fouling value (see "average risk rating" in [0022], [0058] and [0085]-[0086]);
wherein the environmental data comprises a value associated with each of one or more environmental parameters (see "fouling risk rating" in Tables 1-2; [0009]-[0012], [0019], [0044]-[0049] and [0079]-[0085]);
wherein the environmental data relates to a geographical location of the vessel (see Tables 1-2, all; [0009]-[0011 "...(i) selecting a protective coating, wherein the selection is made on the basis of risks associated with regions where the vessel has travelled or is expected to travel…"], [0019], [0044]-[0049] and [0079]-[0085]).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to further modify the process of modified Kato to retrieve environmental data related to a geographical location of the vessel, as taught by Ramsden, in order to determine an average fouling risk value throughout the vessels journey and to apply an appropriate anti-fouling coating product to the vessel.
Regarding Claim 6
Modified Kato teaches the method of claim 4 (as discussed above in claim 4),
Kato is silent regarding wherein environmental data relating to multiple geographical locations is stored in the memory, and the environmental data relating to the geographical location of the vessel is retrieved using the geographical location of the vessel.
Ramsden teaches wherein environmental data relating to multiple geographical locations is stored in the memory, and the environmental data relating to the geographical location of the vessel is retrieved using the geographical location of the vessel (see Tables 1-2, all; [0009]-[0011 "...(i) selecting a protective coating, wherein the selection is made on the basis of risks associated with regions where the vessel has travelled or is expected to travel…"], [0019], [0044]-[0049], [0052 "Information about the routes that the vessel has historically taken could be obtained from the vessel's own logs or from publically available GPS data (Global positioning System) or AIS data (Automatic Identification System) or the like."], and [0079 "The Worldwide marine environment was dissected into 64 geographical regions. Each geographical region was associated with a fouling risk rating of 1 to 5 (1=Very low, 2=Low, 3=Medium, 4=High, 5=Very high) depending on (i) the amount of chlorophyll and nutrients in the water, and (ii) the time of year."]-[0085]).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to further modify the process of modified Kato to retrieve environmental data related to multiple geographical locations and to retrieve the environmental data using the geographical location of the vessel, as taught by Ramsden, in order to determine an average fouling risk value throughout the vessels journey and to apply an appropriate anti-fouling coating product to the vessel.
Regarding Claim 9
Modified Kato teaches the method of claim 1 (as discussed above in claim 1),
Kato is silent regarding where the fouling risk value is determined based on: (i) a plurality of instantaneous fouling risk values, each of the plurality of instantaneous fouling risk values identifying a level of risk of fouling on the surface of the vessel at a respective sampling time in a time period, (ii) a time factor relating to said time period, and (iii) activity of the vessel during said time period.
Ramsden teaches where the fouling risk value is determined based on: (i) a plurality of instantaneous fouling risk values, each of the plurality of instantaneous fouling risk values identifying a level of risk of fouling on the surface of the vessel at a respective sampling time in a time period, (ii) a time factor relating to said time period, and (iii) activity of the vessel during said time period (see "average risk rating" in Tables 1-2, [0022], [0058], [0060] and [0085]-[0086]).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to further modify the process of modified Kato to determine the fouling risk value based on: (i) a plurality of instantaneous fouling risk values, each of the plurality of instantaneous fouling risk values identifying a level of risk of fouling on the surface of the vessel at a respective sampling time in a time period, (ii) a time factor relating to said time period, and (iii) activity of the vessel during said time period, as taught by Ramsden, in order to determine an average fouling risk value throughout the vessels journey and to apply an appropriate anti-fouling coating product to the vessel.
Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kato (as modified by Oftedahl) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Stenson et al. (US 20180305561 A1 and Stenson hereinafter).
Regarding Claim 8
Modified Kato teaches the method of claim 1 (as discussed above in claim 1),
Kato is silent regarding where the fouling value is an instantaneous fouling value indicative of a level of fouling that the surface is exposed to at a sampling time, the instantaneous fouling value determined by computing a weighted average of values of a plurality of risk parameters, the plurality of risk parameters comprising at least one environmental parameter defined in the environmental data.
Stenson teaches a computer implemented method of dynamically monitoring the cleanliness of a hull of a vessel during a journey of said vessel (see all Figs.; [0009]-[0013]), the method performed on a computing device and comprising:
retrieving environmental data from memory of the computing device, the environmental data associated with environment conditions of the vessel (see Fig. 7, all; [0038] and [0088]-[0089]); and
determining a fouling value indicative of a level of fouling that the surface is exposed to based on at least the environmental data (see Fig. 6, "average fouling score" and/or "static fouling roughness value"; Fig. 7, all; [0038] and [0088]-[0089]);
where the fouling value is an instantaneous fouling value indicative of a level of fouling that the surface is exposed to at a sampling time, the instantaneous fouling value determined by computing a weighted average of values of a plurality of risk parameters, the plurality of risk parameters comprising at least one environmental parameter defined in the environmental data (see Fig. 6, "average fouling score" and/or "static fouling roughness value"; [0038] and [0088], especially [0088 "The data may also comprise which coating had been applied to the vessels and which geographical regions the vessels have sailed through, as well as speed and activity data for the vessel over the dry-dock cycle period...Based on the fouling parameters in steps S12-S15 a fouling score is calculated for each vessel. These fouling scores are combined in step S16 to calculate an average fouling score. In a next step S17, the static fouling roughness value is obtained by accessing a table that associates a static fouling roughness value with the calculated average fouling score."]).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to further modify the process of modified Kato to determine an instantaneous fouling value indicative of a level of fouling that the surface is exposed to at a sampling time, by computing a weighted average of values of a plurality of risk parameters comprising at least one environmental parameter defined in the environmental data, as taught by Stenson, in order to determine the instantaneous fouling value with greater accuracy by weighing values obtained for a plurality of vessels throughout a plurality of environments.
Claims 14 and 17 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kato (as modified by Oftedahl) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Salters et al. (US 20190031534 A1 and Salters hereinafter).
Regarding Claim 14
Modified Kato teaches the method of claim 1 (as discussed above in claim 1),
Kato further teaches further comprising:
determining a total duration of one or more periods of said vessel during a time period by querying an activity log associated with said vessel that is stored in memory (see Figs. 11 and 13, date/ time, for example the duration between Aug. 20, 2012 - May 15, 2015; [0094]-[0096], [0101], [0108] and [0112], especially [0096 "Also, a graph that is generated according to the data in the “period” field and the “paint remaining amount” field of the log table and indicates change over time in the remaining amount of the paint, and a graph that is generated according to the data in the “period” field and the “actual Rk” field (or the “estimated Rk” field) of the log table and indicates change over time in the index value of the resistance increase amount are displayed on the fouling risk display screen."]);
determining, from memory, an age of the surface (see Figs. 11 and 13, the "paint film thickness remaining amount" across time from the time of painting/cleaning corresponds to the age of the surface; [0094]-[0097], [0101], [0108] and [0112], especially [0094 "...the date on which coating with the anti-fouling paint was last performed on vessel 8..."] and [0096 "Also, a graph that is generated according to the data in the “period” field and the “paint remaining amount” field of the log table and indicates change over time in the remaining amount of the paint..."]);
determining from data prestored in memory an duration threshold based on the fouling protection value and the age of the surface (see [0112], especially "...conditions relating to the length of the period up to when the remaining amount of the paint reaches a predetermined threshold indicating a limit value, and the length of a period up to when the index value for the resistance increase amount reaches a predetermined threshold value indicating a limit value) based on the calculation results."); and
identifying the level of risk of fouling on the surface of the vessel based on the environmental data (see Fig. 11-13, all; [0011 "...an index value acquisition unit for acquiring a first index value indicating a likelihood of occurrence of fouling of a water contacting surface of the vessel per unit time in the environment; and an index value specification unit for specifying a second index value indicating the likelihood of the occurrence of fouling of the water contacting surface of the vessel in a first period in the environment, based on the first index value."] [0048]-[0053], [0060 "Among these parameters, the water temperature, vessel speed, and position are used as parameters that have an influence on the fouling risk of the vessel body in the present embodiment."], [0101], [0106]-[0108] and [0125]-[0126 "For example, a configuration may be employed in which server apparatus 12 calculates the index values for the fouling risk of the vessel body based on the histograms displayed on the fouling factor display screen (FIG. 12)...."]).
Kato is silent regarding determining the total duration of one or more idle periods and
determining that the total duration exceeds the idle duration threshold.
Salters teaches a computer implemented method of dynamically monitoring the cleanliness of a hull of a vessel during a journey of said vessel (see all Figs.; [0012]), the method performed on a computing device and comprising:
determining a total duration of one or more idle periods of said vessel during a time period by querying an activity log associated with said vessel that is stored in memory (see "duration" in [0019]-[0020], [0051], [0071], especially [0019 "...to assess whether the duration of the relative stationary position exceeds a predetermined maximum duration..."]);
determining from data prestored in memory an idle duration threshold based on the fouling protection value (see "maximum duration" in [0019]-[0020], [0043], [0051], [0071], especially [0051 "...which determines the duration of allowable intervals of a stationary condition of the shaft, can be found by taking into account aspects like the quality of the water, the diameter of the filter screen 10 and power of the lamps 32."]); and
determining that the total duration exceeds the idle duration threshold, and in response identifying the level of risk of fouling on the surface of the vessel based on the environmental data (see [0019 ""...to assess whether the duration of the relative stationary position exceeds a predetermined maximum duration, and, if such is found to be the case, to initiate relative movement of the elements in combination with an activated condition of the one or more light sources of the anti-biofouling system."]-[0020 "...assessing whether the duration of the relative stationary position exceeds a predetermined maximum duration, and, if such is found to be the case, initiating relative movement of the elements in combination with an activated condition of the one or more light sources of the anti-biofouling system."], [0051] and [0071 "For example, in such a case, the propeller 51 may be rotated a predetermined number of times per day, while the anti-biofouling system 30 is on."]).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to further modify the process of modified Kato to determine the total duration of one or more idle periods and determine that the total duration exceeds the idle duration threshold, as taught by Salters, in order to initiate routine cleaning of the fouling each time the total duration exceeds the idle duration threshold.
Regarding Claim 17
Modified Kato teaches the method of claim 14 (as discussed above in claim 14),
Kato further teaches further comprising:
determining a fouling value indicative of a level of fouling that the surface is exposed to based on at least the environmental data (see Figs. 7 and 12, all; [0060 "Examples of the parameters acquired by parameter acquisition unit 111 include deadweight, wind speed, tidal speed, water temperature, vessel speed, position of vessel 8 (hereinafter simply referred to as “position”), and fuel consumption per unit time. Among these parameters, the water temperature, vessel speed, and position are used as parameters that have an influence on the fouling risk of the vessel body in the present embodiment."], [0066], [0080]-[0084], [0098 "FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a fouling factor display screen displayed by terminal apparatus 11 or terminal apparatus 13 in accordance with data transmitted from server apparatus 12. Histograms for the water temperature, vessel speed, and attachment strength are displayed for the period from the day when coating with the anti-fouling paint was last performed on vessel 8 to the current time are displayed on the fouling factor display screen."]-[0100 "...can survey the strength and weakness of factors that have an influence on the fouling of the vessel in the environment in which a voyage of vessel 8 is performed."] and [0123]); and
determining a fouling risk value using the fouling protection value and the fouling value (see Fig. 11-13, all; [0005 "If all of the anti-fouling agent in the anti-fouling paint covering the vessel dissolves, foreign matter such as organisms will rapidly attach to the vessel body...Accordingly, a company that operates the vessel or the like needs to add a coat of the anti-fouling paint to the vessel body before all of the anti-fouling agent dissolves."], [0048]-[0051], [0053 "Server apparatus 12 specifies index values indicating fouling risk based on parameters transmitted from terminal apparatus 11 and accumulates them. In the present embodiment, an index value indicating a remaining amount of an anti-fouling paint or an anti-fouling component contained in the anti-fouling paint (hereinafter referred to as “paint remaining amount”), and an index value indicating a degree of influence (hereinafter referred to as “resistance increase amount”) that fouling of the vessel body has on an increase in resistance that occurs during a voyage of the vessel (hereinafter simply referred to as “resistance”) are used as the index values for the fouling risk of the vessel."], [0060 "Among these parameters, the water temperature, vessel speed, and position are used as parameters that have an influence on the fouling risk of the vessel body in the present embodiment."], [0106] and [0125]-[0126 "For example, a configuration may be employed in which server apparatus 12 calculates the index values for the fouling risk of the vessel body based on the histograms displayed on the fouling factor display screen (FIG. 12) .... The index value calculated in this manner does not directly indicate the paint remaining amount and the resistance increase amount, but indicates how high the likelihood is that the vessel body has been fouled."]).
Kato is silent regarding identifying the level of risk of fouling on the surface of the vessel comprises comparing the fouling risk value to a predetermined threshold.
Oftedahl teaches further comprising:
determining a fouling value indicative of a level of fouling that the surface is exposed to based on at least the environmental data (see Page 5, lines 11-29, especially "…calculating a fouling risk value based on receiving a signal indicative of a risk of fouling on the hull of the vessel…The signal indicative of fouling on the hull of the vessel may comprise information on one or more of: (i) an amount of chlorophyll in an aquatic environment of the vessel; (ii) a pH level of the aquatic environment..."; Page 13, lines 1-170;
determining a fouling risk value using the fouling value (see Page 5, lines 11-20, especially "…calculating a fouling risk value based on receiving a signal indicative of a risk of fouling on the hull of the vessel…determining that the fouling risk value has increased above the predetermined threshold..."; Page 12, lines 33-34); and
identifying the level of risk of fouling on the surface of the vessel comprises comparing the fouling risk value to a predetermined threshold (see Fig. 4, steps S410-S412; Page 5, lines 11-20, especially "...determining that the fouling risk value has increased above the predetermined threshold, and in response, outputting the restart cleaning signal indicating that cleaning by the robot is to be restarted."; Page 21, lines 20-24).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to further modify the process of modified Kato to identify the level of risk of fouling on the surface of the vessel by comparing the fouling risk value to a predetermined threshold, as taught by Oftedahl, in order to automatically clean the vessel with a robot when the fouling risk value is high.
Claim 26 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kato (as modified by Oftedahl) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Salters et al. (US 20170197693 A1 and Salters2 hereinafter).
Regarding Claim 26
Modified Kato teaches the method of claim 1 (as discussed above in claim 1),
Kato is silent regarding wherein in response to determining that the fouling risk value exceeds the predetermined threshold the method further comprises outputting a control signal to a vessel control system to control the vessel to take operational measures.
Salters2 teaches a computer implemented method of dynamically monitoring the cleanliness of a hull of a vessel during a journey of said vessel (see all Figs.; [0010]-[0012]), the method performed on a computing device and comprising:
retrieving environmental data from memory of the computing device, the environmental data associated with environment conditions of the vessel (see [0010]-[0015] and [0087]);
determining a fouling value indicative of a level of fouling that the surface is exposed to based on at least the environmental data (see [0010]-[0015] and [0087 "In yet a further embodiment, the sensor is configured to sense a presence of one or more of a fouling organism and a fouling organism nutrient in water (at a side of the fouling surface). When a level reaches a certain threshold..."]);
identifying a level of risk of fouling on the surface of the vessel by determining a fouling risk value using the fouling level (see [0010]-[0015 "Such parameters are indicative of a bio fouling risk and can be identified by one or more sensors. Such sensor(s) may provide a corresponding signal related to the bioufouling risk. Hence, the feedback signal may thus be related to a bio fouling risk."] and [0087]);
identifying high risk fouling conditions by determining that the fouling risk value exceeds a predetermined threshold (see [0017], [0022], [0032], [0087 "In yet a further embodiment, the sensor is configured to sense a presence of one or more of a fouling organism and a fouling organism nutrient in water (at a side of the fouling surface). When a level reaches a certain threshold, then the control system may switch on the anti-fouling light; when the threshold is not reached, the control system may switch off the anti-fouling light."] and [0090 "As indicated above, the control system is especially configured to control an intensity of the anti-fouling light as function of one or more of (i) a feedback signal related to a bio fouling risk and (ii) a timer for time-based varying the intensity of the anti-fouling light. "]) and
wherein in response to determining that the fouling risk value exceeds the predetermined threshold the method further comprises outputting a control signal to a vessel control system to control the vessel to take operational measures (see [0017], [0022], [0032], [0087 "In yet a further embodiment, the sensor is configured to sense a presence of one or more of a fouling organism and a fouling organism nutrient in water (at a side of the fouling surface). When a level reaches a certain threshold, then the control system may switch on the anti-fouling light; when the threshold is not reached, the control system may switch off the anti-fouling light."] and [0090 "As indicated above, the control system is especially configured to control an intensity of the anti-fouling light as function of one or more of (i) a feedback signal related to a bio fouling risk and (ii) a timer for time-based varying the intensity of the anti-fouling light. "]).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to further modify the process of modified Kato to output a control signal to a vessel control system to control the vessel to take operational measures, as taught by Salters2, in order to mitigate fouling with a vessel anti-fouling system when the fouling risk value exceeds a predetermined threshold.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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 TANNER LUKE CULLEN whose telephone number is (303)297-4384. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9:00-5:00 MT.
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/TANNER L CULLEN/Examiner, Art Unit 3656
/KHOI H TRAN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3656